Dixon Daughter
by Dovahkiir2015
Summary: Most parents have worked out what they're doing when their child is a teenager, can handle their moody teenager. But suddenly having one fall into your life can be a bit of a struggle, especially if they have an attitude problem. Oh, and the dead are up and trying to chew on your guts. That never helps. M to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

She sat in the higher up branches of a tree, looking down at the two men passing below her. Were they stupid or something? They were obviously hunting, one of the most important times to be keeping an eye out for trouble. The undead were crawling all over the place, sometimes in rather large groups, and they were just walking around without a care in the world, and only two of them! She rolled her eyes. Some people just didn't understand how these days worked, didn't understand that the dead could walk, that, hey, guess what?! You could be eaten without a second pause. Had they not even noticed the undead coming up behind them? Well, obviously not, or the guy with the crossbow would just shoot them. He had a few squirrels strung together and flung over his shoulder. The other guy had a gun, so it'd just be stupid if he used it out here. Would doom every one of them to being chased down by all the undead in the area, and there were quite a few. She jumped out of the tree, slicing the skulls of the two rotting people open with her machete without a single pause, pretty much just one fluent motion. The men turned around, pointing their respective weapons at her head.

"Well, isn't that a great way of saying thank you! Save someone's ass, get a crossbow pointed at your skull. Fabulous." She scowled, sarcasm dripping from her voice. This was why she didn't help people. They were ungrateful little shits who deserved everything they got, generally speaking.

"Maybe we should listen to her?" The Asian guy said. Was he Chinese? Quite possibly, though there was also a chance of him being Korean. The guy with the crossbow didn't move.

"And give her the opening she needs to attack us? No chance."

"Wow, because I'd save you from those undead freaks just so I could kill you myself, that'd make great sense, now wouldn't it?" She rolled her eyes and slipped her machete back into its holder and put her hands up, showing she wasn't planning on hurting them.

"What's your name?" The Asian guy asked. She smirked.

"Evelyn. Yours?"

"I'm Glenn, and that's Daryl." She frowned, eying Daryl up as though trying to place him.

"Daryl Dixon?" This time it was his turn to frown.

"What's it to you?"

"I'm right, aren't I?"

"That didn't answer my question."

"Like you didn't answer mine." She folded her arms, glaring at Daryl with her blue eyes that almost bordered on green in the right light. They just stood there for a while, glaring at each other and making Glenn feel very out of place at that moment.

"Can we possibly hurry this along? We need to get back to the others." He muttered the last part in an attempt to keep it from Evelyn's hearing, but it didn't work. Her frown grew deeper and she took a slight step forward.

"Any closer and you'll get an arrow in your skull."

"Yeah yeah, very nice. What others?"

"Doesn't effect you."

"Sure it does. Because I want to know how many idiots are out here making noise."

"We know what we're doing."

"Right, because that's why I had to kill those undead walking freak things for you. Yes, you totally had it under control." She shook her head and looked back at the now re-dead people lying with open skulls on the ground. Some people just didn't know how to use their manners. Well, in all honesty, she was one of them. Where was the point in manners in this day and age? Everyone was either dead, going to be dead, or trying to kill any other human that got in their way. It was a fantastic world to grow up in. Glenn lowered his gun and started moving away.

"Come on, man. We gotta get going."

"How'd you know my name?"

"That is a long story. Which starts with a woman called Annette Michaels, usually called Anne for short. Ringing any bells?" Evelyn asked. Daryl didn't respond and she half smiled, nodding ever so slightly. She walked over and leaned against a tree, looking slightly smug, but at the same time a bit lost in thought, maybe slightly sad.

"Yeah. She had a photo album with her when those things came back. Picture of one Daryl Dixon was in it. Looked like a younger version of you, and when your friend said your name was Daryl, well. It's easy enough to out the pieces together."

"Where is she now?"

"Oh, I don't know. Probably out there moaning with the rest of them. Moaning or dead. That's the usual state of being these days." She scowled.

"Daryl –"

"How'd you know her?"

"You see, that's where things get interesting," She looked Daryl in the eye, absently braiding a strand of her dark brown hair, "You see, my name, my full name. It's Evelyn Michaels." He looked at her in slight confusion. She just glared at him and Glenn just looked shocked.

"What?"

"Well, I say that it's Evelyn Michaels, but Mom actually gave me my dad's last name. I just refuse to use it."

"What it is?"

"I'm sure you're can work it out. We don't look way too different, unfortunately," She scowled, pushing herself away from the tree and walking over to him, pushing the end of the crossbow down, "By the way, that squirrel is mine." She said, taking a squirrel off Daryl and flinging it over her own shoulder. Glenn and Daryl shared looks as Evelyn walked in the direction they had been heading before she distracted them.

"You have a daughter?" Glenn asked incredulously.

"Shut up." Daryl scowled, heading off after her, not really sure how to react to the news. They had to jog to catch up with her, not that she wants them to catch up. She wanted them to bugger off, leave her alone. Sure, she was going in the same direction, for now at least, but they'd want to talk. And talking wasn't the easiest and most fun past time for her. They caught up reasonably quickly and started walking beside her.

"So... how long have you been on your own?" Glenn asked.

"Doesn't matter. Not long enough."

"Hey, it matters." Daryl said. Evelyn looked at him, eyebrow raised. She shook her head.

"Why? Why would that matter? Can't change the past, now can we?"

"We can try to make up for it in the present though." Glenn suggested. Evelyn snorted.

"Still doesn't change anything. But if it's that important to you, I've been alone multiple times. Once after my mom went to get help. That lasted... oooh, two or three weeks consisting entirely of hiding in the caravan and eating what little food we had left. Got found by a nice little family who looked after me for a while. Second time I was alone was when I was something like thirteen. Pretty much been alone since then."

"So you've been alone for a while?"

"No, I've been alone for a tiny period of time and I'm just lying to make you feel sorry for me. Yes, I've been alone for a while, and I am perfectly happy on my own."

"Come back with us."

"Why the hell would I do something like that?" She stopped walking and glared at Daryl, "People make noise. They draw attention to themselves. More people, the more mouths you have to feed. Just generally, you're in a worse position."

"Safety in numbers."

"Yeah, if you're attacked there are more people to be killed so you're less likely to die. Have only one person, you hardly count as a threat. Easier to escape the dead if there is only one of you because you don't have to worry about anyone else." She rolled her eyes.

"You seem to have given this a lot of thought." Glenn said. Evelyn glared at him and shook her head.

"Another thing. Being alone gives you the great opportunity to think about things. Yeah, I know the advantages of being in a group. I also know which I prefer to be alone. People and me don't mix too good."

"Something you inherited from your dad." Glenn mumbled. Daryl and Evelyn glared at him for that and he looked quite sheepish.

"Look, I ain't going with you to your buddies. I don't want to live in that kind of set up."

"I'm your dad." Daryl muttered. Evelyn shook her head, mildly amused, but mostly irritated.

"Biologically, sure. But don't think you can waltz into my life and start the whole "I'm your dad, do as I say" act and expect it to work. You don't know me, I don't know you. Not even sure if I want to. Afterall, you did ditch my mom."

"You always gonna bring that up?"

"Don't know. We go our separate ways, never meet again, and guess what? You'll never have to hear my annoying voice again. I will never talk to you about Mom and you'll not get reminded about it."

"Except I know your mom wouldn't want me to just leave you out here to fend for yourself."

"She's dead. She wouldn't care. Hell, she'd probably try to eat me herself."

"You have such a positive outlook on life, don't you?" Glenn asked, interrupting Evelyn and Daryl's discussion. She shrugged.

"Someone's got to."

"Look, kid, you're coming with us." Daryl said. She shook her head, hand resting on her machete.

"I don't think so." She said. Daryl shook his head and took her machete off her, grabbing her by the arm. She scowled and tried to pull away. Curse him, he had a strong grip. She struggled, but it didn't work. Glenn watched, slightly amused. He could see similarities between them, in what personality Evelyn had shown and in how they looked. He felt slightly sorry for Daryl. Poor guy had his work cut out for him. Daryl dealing with a surprise teenage daughter with an attitude problem? This could be quite funny to watch. Probably from a safe distance though.

* * *

 **Author's note: Not too sure exactly what is going to happen, it'll be fun. Hopefully. I'll finish anyway. Completely unrelated to my other walking dead fanfic. If anyone wants anything to happen, I am happy to take requests and I'll do my best to work things into the fanfic. :) Hope you enjoyed the first chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

Evelyn was not looking too impressed. She had been let go of, but Daryl had taken her machete and was holding it captive. She didn't understand why he thought that just because they were related by blood he could boss her around. They didn't look at each other, both scowling. Glenn was trying not to show he was reacting to it in any way, but he wasn't succeeding. He was finding this too funny, and Evelyn knew it, which just made her scowl all the more.

"Find anything?" Someone asked. Evidently they had arrived at the group. Evelyn turned to Daryl.

"Can I have my machete back now?"

"No. And we found her." He said, indicating to Evelyn, who sighed in annoyance. She looked at the woman who asked if they had found anything. Some woman with short brown hair. Glenn walked over to her and said a couple of things, probably explaining everything.

"So when are you going to give it back?"

"When I know you're not just gonna bugger off again."

"You're annoying, you know that?"

"I'm not meant to be your friend."

"I don't want a friend, I want my machete."

"It isn't a kid's toy."

"Good thing I'm not a kid then!"

"Daryl, who is this?" Some guy with a cool jacket asked, walking over to them. Evelyn scowled. Another person who thought they owned the world. Terrific. Daryl didn't say anything and Evelyn rolled her eyes. Evidently he didn't know how to explain it. Some dad he was shaping up to be.

"My name is Evelyn. Only reason I'm here is he took my machete off me so I had to come for the whole safety thing. In other news, he's the guy who got my mom pregnant."

"What?" The guy looked at Daryl incredulously, "You knew about this? How'd you keep that from us for so long?"

"I didn't know. Didn't find out too long ago."

"Like I didn't find out that he was some random dude who would steal a girl's only form of protection just to make her go with him." Evelyn glared at Daryl and he scowled. The new guy just stood there for a moment, not too sure about how to take this news. Looked like no one did. Evelyn rolled her eyes.

"So who the hell are you? You know who I am."

"Rick Grimes."

"Good to meet you. Now, you wanna get Daryl to give my machete back to me so I can get out of your hair?"

"Not safe for you to be out there on your own."

"Seriously?! You're taking his side? Terrific. Thought you were dragging me here to make friends." She walked off and leaned against a mini bus type thing (Evelyn sucked at identifying what was what when it came to vehicles, was it a camper van?) that they had with them, folding her arms across her chest, evidently more than unimpressed. Rick looked at Daryl.

"Not exactly what we were wanting you to find."

"Trust me, not what I wanted either."

"I heard that!" Evelyn called. Rick smiled slightly and Daryl looked slightly bewildered.

"That girl ain't normal."

"Well I didn't get it from Mom!" She glared at him and he shook his head. Rick looked over his shoulder at her and she nodded at him, knowing that she had won that round. Daryl was probably too tired to bother with coming up with a response. Either that or he was just naturally slightly quieter, though neither seemed too keen on talking.

* * *

"So you expect me to stay in this place? With people I don't even know? Man, you press a hard bargain." Evelyn was glaring at Daryl, as usual. They were in the van thing on their way back to Alexandria. Daryl shrugged.

"They're good people and you'll get to know them."

"I don't really want to. I want my machete back, then I can get out of your way. Sounds like a much better idea to me."

"You know how annoying that's getting?"

"No more annoying than it must have been for Mom having to raise a kid on her own." Evelyn started absently braiding her hair again. Daryl shook his head. Was she always going to be this annoying?

"One question." He said.

"What?"

"Walkers wanting to eat us and people trying to kill us, world coming to an end, and you get your ear pierced?"

"It was pierced when I was a kid, alright?"

"Your ear was pierced three times when you were a kid?"

"Mom's choice, not mine. I don't even remember it. But hey, seems to go alright with the look I got going."

"Rambo."

"Don't."

"That's the impression you give with that headband." Daryl said, pointing at the blue band. Evelyn scowled.

"And you still expect me to do as you say." She shook her head. He didn't even know her, wanted to make sure she didn't so anything stupid, wanted her to do as he said, all that kind of thing... and yet he still judged her appearance. She had to wonder if he had a brain. She thought for a moment, looking at Daryl. He was looking at her in a similar way. They were both wondering how exactly this whole family thing was going to work, neither were thinking that it wasn't going to.

"What's this place like?"

"Better than other places."

"Yeah, I know of a few places better than others. I want to know what I'm gonna have to deal with. If I have to stay there, then I want to know." Daryl looked at her, thinking before starting to describe the place. Evelyn didn't speak, just looked at him, imagining roughly what Alexandria would be like. She hadn't been around people for a while. Things weren't going to be the nicest to her for a while she suspected. Perhaps she would be able to just hide out in the house for a while? She doubted it. Chances were that she was going to have to get straight into working, pull her own weight, that kind of thing. How long would it be until she could escape she wondered. Hopefully not too long. But she wouldn't leave without her machete.

* * *

The light filtered into her room, waking her up. She pulled a face and hauled the blankets further up over her head. She didn't want to wake up. She hadn't been in Alexandria long, about a week, and they were testing how good she was with different weapons to put her on a guard watch. It was the job that suited her best. She curled up more and nuzzled down into her pillow further. It felt like ages ago she had slept in a proper bed. Best thing about being in this place. A proper bed, a working shower, food, someone else to watch her back (though she would never admit that to anyone, especially not Daryl). She felt something land on her bed and peered out from the blanket, not uncovering her head. She refused to get up. Daryl had thrown one of her shoes at her.

"Get up." He said.

"My shift isn't for ages." She muttered, pulling the blankets over her head again. Something else landed on her. Probably her other shoe.

"You can still get up and help with other things."

"Like what? Inventory? Yeah, coz that just screams my name, don't it?" She sighed and kicked the blankets off, catching a tennis ball (she had found it in her travels and it was just lying on the floor now). Daryl left the room and she sighed. It was weird to live in the same house as that guy. He was a grumpy guts. Or was he only like that to her because she was like that to him? Well, it was kinda his fault that she had to grow up in such a way that meant she was like this. She got dressed and stumbled downstairs, still half asleep, not bothering to put shoes on.

"What's for breakfast?"

"You need to ask?"

"Yeah, well, I'm hoping that one day it won't be... whatever those abominations are." She pulled a face and grabbed one of the things that looked like a dog wouldn't even eat it, grudgingly putting it in her mouth. Now she remembered why she preferred it on her own. She sat down and picked up the book she had been reading, absently drumming her fingers on the table. For a moment Daryl watched her, then he went outside, probably to work on that bike of his. Evelyn watched him out of the corner of her eye. She was contemplating asking if she could have a go on it, but she suspected she knew the answer. Fair enough too. That bike was probably way too big for her. She continued reading for a while, but got bored fairly rapidly because it wasn't the best book she'd ever read and reading wasn't her favourite thing in the world anyway, just something to do to pass the time. She closed the book with a satisfying whack and slid it across the table before getting up and leaving the house, still without shoes on.

"Where are you going?"

"Don't know. Exploring?"

"What the hell is there to explore? You ain't going outside the walls."

"Course not, I don't have shoes on." Evelyn rolled her eyes and walked off, leaving Daryl to scowl slightly and return to working on his bike, probably smoking too. Filthy habit. Dying of lung cancer these days wouldn't just kill you once. Well, it would, but then you'd come back as a walker (as Evelyn was told this group called them) and then you would have to be stabbed or shot in the brain. Or bludgeoned. Messy, but it worked. She kept walking, sticking close to the wall, looking at all the names painted on it. One of them was wiped out, but it was still readable to some extent. Glenn. There must be a story behind it. He probably went missing at some point and was presumed to be dead. Why would he have gone missing though? Drawing some walkers away? Saving people from the Wolves? Who knew. Well, Glenn did, probably most of the people around here did. Evelyn didn't, but she didn't care enough to ask either. She looked around and spotted a girl around her age with brown hair near the wall. She frowned.

"Hey!" The girl looked at Evelyn and froze. Up to no good then. What was it about people that made it so obvious when they were up to no good? Man, she would suck at poker. Evelyn walked over to the girl and shrugged.

"What we're you doing? Not many people look at a wall quite like that."

"Nothing."

"Right. Coz I'm just gonna believe that," Evelyn shook her head, "Whatever. What's your name?"

"Enid. What's yours?"

"Evelyn. I'm new. Ish. Seen you around a couple of times."

"Oh! You're Daryl's – "

"Don't. Don't say it. Being anyone's kid is just a weird thought for me. Especially if I'm his kid." She scowled. Enid didn't say anything, probably not quite understanding things properly. Evelyn looked around and shrugged.

"So what exactly is there to do around here? So far all I've been doing is been on watch duty and sitting around inside reading or sleeping. Not exactly my idea of fun."

"What is your idea of fun?"

"Don't know. Haven't really had fun since I was a kid. Trying to survive was my main concern."

"Why? I mean..."

"Enough questions. You probably have some sort of job to get on with or something. Being near the wall probably isn't be best idea."

"Then why we're you here?"

"I was exploring. Now come on. Before Daryl sees me here and drags me back to everyone else, probably kicking and screaming." Evelyn muttered. Enid looked back at the wall one more time then nodded, heading back to everyone else in the middle of the safe haven. Evelyn smiled when she saw a group of people practicing with machetes and a few other types of knives. She nodded to Enid and then walked over to the group, Enid watching her.

"Mind if I join in?" She asked the woman who seemed to be taking the rest of them for drills. She thought for a moment, then nodded.

"So long as you mean it."

"Yeah, I mean it." Evelyn said. The woman nodded and handed over a machete.

"Then show me what you got."


	3. Chapter 3

Daryl walked upstairs. It felt wrong, going through Evelyn's stuff, but he didn't quite trust her. There was just something... off. Rick had agreed with him about it, she wasn't telling them everything. Not that anyone would tell a bunch of strangers everything about themselves. Especially not these days. But Evelyn seemed like she was hiding a lot more. Something she had seen? Something she had done? Who knew. Only she could really tell them. Or not. He looked at the room. How could she keep it so messy? It was like she just set a bomb and then walked off, leaving it to somehow become a mess. He shook his head.

"Course she's messy." He muttered, starting to look around. Surely there was something that could shine some light on her past? It still felt wrong though. Hell, Evelyn was his daughter... too weird. How the hell could she be his? Maybe Anne had made a mistake. Was it possible? Daryl tried to throw the thoughts from his mind. Why was Evelyn even in that forest? It was no where near anywhere and she was bang in the middle of it. Why? She was a nomad, sure, but that place didn't even have good hunting. A couple of squirrels, that was it. He bent down and had a rough look in her pack, not that there was much left in it. A pencil, a journal with rough sketches in it of the land, a few notes of what games was there last time she passed through, notes of the dangers of the area. A few sketches of hastily drawn maps, a couple of people. A photo of her mom in the front. Darryl stopped and looked at it for a while. Anne hadn't been the most beautiful of women, but she had a certain spark, and she certainly wasn't ugly. She was fairly plain, had chestnut brown eyes and blonde hair that fell in waves about her shoulders, occasionally with purple streaks running through it. She was freckly, very freckly, and had a nice smile. Her smile was beautiful. Daryl wondered whether Evelyn had inherited her smile. The girl had more her mom's face shape than his, just had more his colouring. And attitude. He placed the photo back in the journal and returned it to the pack, looking around again. One thing was for sure, Evelyn had a fair idea about what she was doing and who she had to look out for, but if there was anything that she didn't want them to know, anything that was lying around that could give them a clue about where she was from, it was very well hidden. He moved to leave the room when something caught his eye. From under her pillow, a corner of another journal was showing. He frowned and started heading back over to it when the door opened. Evelyn was back. Daryl frowned and walked over to the door, pausing to listen. It didn't sound like she was heading to her bedroom.

' _Probably going back to that book of hers.'_ He thought, quietly crossing back to the journal and pulling it out, sitting down on her bed to read it. Not that it didn't feel wrong reading it. Reading someone's diary was a complete invasion of privacy, but he'd gone this far, right? If she found out she was going to be pissed off anyway.

 _It's been a while. Roughly three months, I think, and they still just keep coming. It's like they never end. I keep saying that he's going to come, that he wouldn't just abandon me, but chances are that he's dead. How many are dead? How many of my friends, my family? I can't voice any of these concerns; I don't want to freak Evie out. Would it even really matter? Chances are that she's not going to survive anyway, it's not like she's all that strong. In any way. She's not even great conversation. I honestly just wish that Daryl was here. He would know what to do. He was good like that._

Daryl frowned at the first page of the journal. It continued on, but he had read enough. Was that really the way Anne was thinking towards the end? How many other entries were there like that? He flicked through the pages, his frown growing deeper. She said so many things about Evelyn, about him, about how she'd much rather have him with her than Evelyn. Things must have been hard on her, but what would have possessed her to think like that? That wasn't her. He stood up, journal in hand and left the room.

* * *

She threw herself onto the couch and folded her hands behind her head after placing her book on her lap, reading it and occasionally turning a page. She felt good. It was nice to actually do something every once in a while, and those drills had been fun, though they were really easy. Or she had found them easy. Evelyn lazily flicked over the page of her book and smiled. Some people were just idiots.

"What is this?" Daryl asked, storming into the room, looking incredibly pissed off. Evelyn lowered her book and scowled when she recognised the journal.

"You went through my stuff? That was completely uncalled for!" She stood up, casting her book aside and lunging for the journal. Curse Daryl. He was taller than her and held the book out of her reach above his head.

"What is it?"

"You already know! If you have it, then you've read it. Now give it back."

"Why the hell would Anne be talking like this?"

"Because she was a friggin nutcase!" Evelyn yelled, "She didn't care about me! Not after the bloody apocalypse started! She just went nutty and didn't care about me, she just went on about you. About you and how wonderful you were. All that after all that she had made me go through. Every single bloody thing that he did, she was the one who presented the situation. It was all her." Evelyn whirled around, not wanting to look at Daryl. She was too angry, not even sue about what she was angry at anymore. Her mom, Daryl, herself... she wasn't sure.

"Rick told you to search my room, didn't he?"

"We figured you were hiding something important from us."

"No one tells a complete stranger their frigging life story in the first ten minutes of meeting them! I was never going to tell you about my stupid step-dad and how my mom treated me before she vanished off the face of the earth! I was never going to tell you all that shit when I didn't even know you! Hell, I still don't know you, and yet you go and search my room to force my hand! Man, I feel so trusted. Remember, it was you who made me come here." Evelyn looked at Daryl darkly, scowling from anger and frustration. He was just frowning slightly.

"Step-dad?"

"Yeah, a half wit who I seriously hope is dead."

"What did he do?"

"Like you care." She muttered, sitting down on the couch again. She didn't want to talk anymore. She just wanted to kill something. She suspected Rick was behind her room being searched, or partially anyway. He seemed like that kind of person. Someone who needed to know if someone could be trusted. That's why she was never put on a part of the wall alone. She always had someone with her on the platform. Some guy called Abraham. Guy who thought he was funny. Only funny thing about him was his beard.

"I do care." Daryl said. Evelyn glared at him, trying to tell if he was being sincere or not. She sighed, half growling.

"Mom married him when I was something like seven years old. She wanted to give me a better life, wanted to be able to spend more time with me. He was some richish bloke who picked her up at her job in whichever bar she worked in. They got married, lived together, everything sweet. For the first month or so. And the he started to hit me. Not too hard, just occasionally, lightly on the arm. Then he got harder and it got more frequent. Ended up getting concussion once or twice. In that first entry oof her diary... where she says that I was weak. I was sick. Concussion. Broken leg. Fractured arm. Black eye. A few cuts and bruises. And I took every single goddamned one of those hits for her. I didn't want him hurting her. But that didn't stop him, the fuck-wit. If he isn't already dead, then I'm gonna kill him. I can promise you that." She scowled, looking Daryl in the eye.

"That's rough." He said, calmer now that she had given him some information about her past, and walked over, sitting down next to her on the couch. She shook her head.

"Compared to how it was after she ran off to find you, it was a walk in the park. That's why we wee in that van leaving Atlanta. Because she was taking me to find you."

"Atlanta?"

"Yeah. Atlanta. You deaf or something?"

"I was just outside Atlanta after the outbreak." He admitted. She didn't early respond, just started fiddling with the blue fabric tied around her wrist on her left hand. Daryl wondered if it ever got annoying, wondered if her fingerless gloves ever got too hot in this weather. There was so much about her that he didn't know. Thought she was just some kind of stuck up brat. And now he was learning she had a step-dad who beat her. For some reason it made him pissed off, though not at Evelyn. He was pissed off at the guy who did all that to her.

"Funny how things work out, isn't it? You were so close and yet you still didn't find us," She snorted, "And all she ever went on about was how I was a mistake. She went on about how meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to her, and that having me was a mistake. A mistake born of the best thing in her life. She said all that. All that to a nine year old kid who can't walk properly, can hardly move properly, can't frigging see properly, all because she was protecting her stupid, ungrateful mom." Evelyn's hands balled into fists, her fingernails digging into her palms through the gloves. Daryl didn't say anything. Evelyn shook her head and laughed spitefully, wanting something to punch.

"And yet for some reason I still love her. Through all her flaws, through everything she said, I still love her. For seven years she was all I had. And where were you? Where were you when I was growing up? I keep that journal to remind me of what she said and thought of me. I never read past the first page, but the first page is enough. It keeps me going." Evelyn stood up and headed to her room, not saying anything. Daryl just let her go. What was he supposed to say in that kind of situation? Evelyn didn't care. She was mad at him. Just slammed the door shut and started punching her bed over and over again, trying to vent her anger in the least destructive way possible. She was mad at them all. Daryl, for not being there, for forcing her to go to Alexandria, for going through her stuff. Glenn, for making he go to Alexandria. Her step-dad, for putting her in those positions, for making her so weak, so vulnerable. Her mom, for being so pathetic, for never sticking up for her, for making he life seem like some sort of bad fairy tale gone wrong. There were no happy endings. There never had been.

* * *

 **Author's note: Sorry if I keep getting some things confused and write the same word in two different ways (eg: Mom and Mum) I'm a kiwi, so not used to it. Hopefully I'm not doing too badly.**


	4. Chapter 4

Evelyn looked out over the wall, thinking. Why did she still care about what happened back then? That was, essentially, in another life. Why care about what happened in the past? Not like she could change it. She rubbed her arm, remembering the odd angle it had been at, the pain of each and every blow that he landed. She shook her head, trying to remove the pain from her mind. She didn't want to remember that. To show fear was to show weakness, and it never stopped him, if anything it egged him on. She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, running her fingers over the scar. There was a reason she left her hair out. She didn't want people to see. With the scars on her arms, she could just blame those on scratches she got when escaping walkers or something like that. He had been more random and careless with those scratches. The ones on her back, though... those were obviously from some sort of beatings, from having boiling water thrown on her, all sorts of unthinkable things. Well, obviously not unthinkable. He had done them. She sighed and started fiddling with the strip of fabric around her wrist again. The headband, the fabric around her wrist, the fabric decorating her machete... it was from her mom. Anne had given Evelyn the old rags that had once been her shirt and Evelyn had turned them into things she could keep with her at all times after her mom left.

"What are you doing up here?" Evelyn turned and looked at the teenage boy who had just come up the ladder. She shrugged.

"Decided to take an early watch. Needed to get away from... well, my dad." She said, looking back over the wall.

"With no weapon?"

"I'm just a lookout. Daryl took my weapon and still hasn't given it back. Haven't had a gun since I was about thirteen when I lost it."

"You lost a gun?"

"Saviours."

"Ah," He stood next to her, looking out over the wall, "You're Evelyn, aren't you?"

"Yep. And you're Carl."

"Yeah." Evelyn looked at him, eying his hat. It was a nice hat. How could she steal it? She was also plotting ways to steal Rick's jacket. She liked that jacket. If the apocalypse had never happened, by now she would either have been put in a women's refuge, or would be nicking things that she liked from shops. Neither scenario seemed that nice. Not that she wasn't nicking things from shops anyway, but things were slightly different now. She thought for a moment.

"So what are you doing up here? Ricktator send you to talk to me?"

"What?"

"By now chances are that Daryl told Rick about... stuff... and then chances are that Rick would send you to talk to me. Am I right?"

"How could you work it out that quickly?"

"Surprisingly enough, I am actually pretty good at reading people. Something I have no idea who I get from, but Mom showed no talent for it, judging by the men in her life." Evelyn scowled and absently rubbed her arm again. Carl noticed, but didn't say anything. Evelyn looked down at her hand when she noticed what she was doing and scowled, stopping immediately. She hated showing any sign of weakness, especially around one of Rick's little spies.

"You probably got told about what happened to me as a kid, huh?"

"Nah, not really. I was just told you had a hard time."

"Putting it mildly. But what did he think would be gained by you talking to me? I can guess why you're here, but not the purpose behind it. Unless it's something cheesey like he wants you to gain my trust so I'll open up to you more."

"He just thinks you need someone to talk to. Said that I was about your age, I might be able to get you to open up more."

"Last person I got along with who was about our age, let's just say it didn't end too well for him. He ended up losing his hand."

"Least he didn't lose an eye."

"I'd say losing a hand is just about as bad. Harder to climb trees to escape if you need to, so many things you can't do anymore. You're more of a target for any kind of predator, humans included, because you are weaker. I'd say it's a similar situation if you only have one eye. You can't see as well, so you're at a higher risk of being the one picked off by predators," Evelyn cursed herself, looking up at the sky in annoyance, "Shit, shouldn't have said that. Not something people really want to hear." She shook her head. Carl smiled slightly. Evelyn shocked herself when she started thinking that it was a nice smile. She looked away, feeling embarrassed. Normally she didn't think things like that. What was up with her?

"Nah, it's fine. I got used to not having one of my eyes. I guess it'd be harder to defend yourself with only one hand than the would be to protect yourself with only one eye."

"Yeah. He manages it though. Pretty good at surviving to. He's got a good head on him. Got us out of some rather sticky situations. He was the brain, I was the brawn. Worked pretty well."

"Where is he now?"

"Went our separate ways. It happens. I have a habit of driving people away." She shrugged carelessly and ran her hand through her hair in an attempt to distract herself from how awkward she was feeling. She didn't see how it would really help, but she did it anyway. Movement between the surrounding trees caught her attention and she pointed it out.

"Undead freak? I mean... damn... walker? That's what you call them, yeah?"

"Yeah. And it could be. Can't see it too clearly," He turned and looked at Evelyn, "Undead freak? You call them undead freaks?"

"Um... It's one of the things I call them, yeah. Didn't really know what they were called, did I?" She said, rather defensively.

"Good name for them. Certainly describes them well." He said, turning and heading down the ladder again. Evelyn watched him for a moment, thinking. We're she, Enid, and Carl the only teenagers around the place? What was it that normal teenagers did? Was she normal? She doubted it. Normal kids weren't beaten up, so normal teenagers probably hadn't experienced that kind of thing as a child. Normal teenagers would know how to have fun. Normal teenagers would know how to trust people. But what was normal? Was there such thing as normal in this kind of scenario? Where the dead did the whole burst from the ground thing and start walking around looking for someone's brain to eat? Well, just someone in general, really. They wouldn't stop at just the brain.

"You coming?"

"What? What damage will one walker do?"

"When did you last see only one walker?"

"A couple of weeks ago. It was stuck in a tree somehow. I blame the French guy."

"French... guy?"

"Someone who doesn't like me." She smirked. She quite liked the French guy, couldn't remember his name, but she found him quite funny. Just coz he didn't really like her all that much didn't mean she couldn't like him. He had an awesome accent. But he complained about missing home a lot. Understandable, but still annoying. He was only supposed to be in America for a holiday. Some holiday. Evelyn shook her head.

"Someone better keep an eye on the walker in case anything else comes along. I'm still technically supposed to be guard duty." The truth, but also her just not wanting to be around Carl that much. He was a nice guy, but she felt too relaxed around him. She didn't know him and yet she was telling him a fair bit of stuff. Not good. She wasn't here to make friends. She was there to be safe. She was there because Daryl had forced her hand. She did not want to make friends, didn't want people to get to know her. And yet she was telling Carl quite a bit. It out her on edge.

"Makes sense," He said, "When is your shift over?"

"When the next person comes." She said, shrugging.

"How long is that?"

"Dunno. Don't really know how to tell time or anything like that. Anywhere between half an hour and an hour I think." Evelyn looked back over the fence. Not being able to tell the time was a bit of a sore spot. She knew how long it would be until night by the sun, but she couldn't actually say how long until it would be dark. She just knew. If she had a clock or something she would be able to tell. But she didn't.

"OK. See you after your shift finishes?"

"Maybe." What? Where did that come from. She cursed herself as Carl walked away, clenching her hand up in a fist and scowling. She didn't want to do anything after her shift finished. She just wanted to go off and read a book. But maybe getting to know Carl and, presumably, Enid, could work in her favour. They wouldn't be the only ones learning something about her. She'd be learning things about them. She'd just have to make sure she learnt more about them than they did about her.

* * *

After her shift, Evelyn didn't go looking for Carl or Enid. She didn't feel comfortable with the thought of hanging out with kids her age. Not yet at any rate. So she just went home. Didn't know what she was going to do there, but she did. Daryl was sitting in front of his bike – again – and talking to Rick. Evelyn nodded once in greeting and moved to head inside.

"Hey, Rambo." Daryl said, stopping her. She sighed in exasperation and rolled her eyes. Why did he I insist on calling her Rambo? It was annoying. But also kind of... touching. In a weird way. He had a nickname for her. She'd never had a nickname aside for Evie. Or Eva. Or, on occasion, Lyn. Rambo was a new one. She turned and looked at Daryl.

"What?"

"Want to talk to you."

"About what?"

"I'll leave you two to talk." Rick said, which made Evelyn frown. Rick knew what Daryl wanted to talk to her about? Couldn't be anything good. He walked off and Daryl motioned that Evelyn should sit beside him. Hesitantly she sat down, far enough away so she could make a run for it should that be necessary. Daryl stopped working and looked at her, not saying anything. Evelyn shifted uncomfortably.

"You always working on this thing?" She asked, pointing to the bike. She knew that Daryl would say what he wants to say. Eventually. It was just a matter of time. He half smiled.

"Gotta make sure it stays working."

"I don't know much about mechanics, but uh... shouldn't it just stay working for a while without you fixing it or fiddling round with it every couple of hours?" Daryl laughed slightly, surprising Evelyn. She shook her head and leaned away slightly, making Daryl look rather amused.

"What?" He asked.

"Who the hell are you and what have you done to Daryl?"

"Ha! Even I have a sense of humour, kid."

"Could have fooled me. You seem to be the biggest stick in the mud I ever met. Now what did you want to talk to me about? I'm sick of waiting for you to get to the point." She didn't overly like this... family bonding... thing. If that was what it counted as. Daryl's face returned to its normal serious state.

"Your step-dad. What kind of thing did he do to you?"

"Not a question I overly want to answer," Evelyn shifted uncomfortably and stated rubbing her arm again, "You tell me about your side of the family, I'll tell you about what happened to me and Mom because of my step-dad. Sound like a deal?" She looked in Daryl's eye. She wanted to know what other family members her mom had never told her about. Daryl paused for a moment, then nodded.

"OK." He said. Evelyn nodded once.

"Thanks."

"You first." He said. Evelyn sighed. He better hold up his end of the bargain.

"Well..."


	5. Chapter 5

_**Two years before the outbreak.**_

 _She hid. She didn't want to be found. Not by him. So she sat there, huddled under the table as though there was an earthquake, as though the world was about to end. He stormed around, making noises like some sort of bear. Evelyn tried to keep her breathing steady and quiet. Somewhere down the hall she could hear her mom crying. Evidently he was in a really bad mood, something had gone wrong at the company. Whenever that happened he took it out on them._

" _Where the fuck are you?!" He raged. Evelyn didn't move, didn't make a sound, hardly even dared to breathe. If he found her after she had been hiding, things would be worse than if she had just let him beat her in the first place. She screwed her eyes shut, wishing that her real dad would somehow, miraculously, show up and beat the crap out of this guy. But he didn't. He never had in the past, why would today be any exception?_

" _Found you, you little twerp." Evelyn gasped and scrambled backwards as a hand reached out to grab her. She stumbled out from under the table and tried to make a run for it, but she couldn't. Her legs were stiff and dead from hiding in the same position for so long. He grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her back, hauling her to her feet by her hair with his other hand. She looked at him, terror in her eyes, her breath coming in sharp, raggedy gasps, trying desperately to ignore the pain of what felt like her hair being ripped in clumps out of her head. His grey eyes were colder than the oldest stone, chilling her to the very centre of her bones. She knew she was in for it now. She knew that her mom would do nothing to stop it either, just huddle in her corner and cry as Evelyn received blow after blow, sob as she heard her daughter's bones crack, simply watch as blood started pouring from the kid'she nose and mouth_ _. If things were really bad, then the makeshift whip would come out and Evelyn would be thrown to the ground and left there crying out in agony as lash after lash fell on her back. But for now all she could do was stand there in silence as her step-dad judged her with that cold stare. Her head was starting to hurt from where his fist grasp her hair, she felt like her scalp was bleeding from where his nails had clung for a moment. Her ankle was sore, and chances were that it was at least bruised. Why had her mom married this sorry excuse of a man? He leered at her and lazily cast her aside, ignoring her yelp of pain as the back of her neck hit the corner of the table, splitting it open. Evelyn tried very hard to control the tears, crying wouldn't help, begging for him to stop wouldn't work. If anything it egged him on. She looked at her mom, standing in the hall, hiding behind the doorframe, a pleading look in her eye. Why didn't she do anything? But she hardly looked better than Evelyn did. Her mom had the advantage of being pretty much a trophy wife. He would never hurt her anywhere someone could see it, so he never hurt her as much. Evelyn though... he could damn near do anything he pleased with her. Evelyn looked up in fear at her step-dad and shrunk away as he raised his hand. She braced herself for the blow that was about to come, an involuntary cry of pain escaping as his fist collided with her ribs. She hugged the table leg as though it could somehow save her, as though it was the key to her safety, but it didn't stop anything. Blow after blow rained down on her. As her world became consumed by the pain, she could hear her mom sobbing and her step-dad yelling, shouting any kind of abuse that came to his lips._

* * *

 _ **Now**_

Evelyn was sitting out on the porch of Daryl's home, chucking her tennis ball up in the air and lazily catching it. May as well improve one skill, even if it was a seemingly useless skill. Hell, storytelling seemed like a useless skill, and yet it had saved her butt more times than she cared to admit. For once, Daryl wasn't working on his bike. Instead he was asleep in a chair on the deck, or he seemed to be asleep. Knowing him he was still keeping one eye on Evelyn. She hated that about him. She couldn't go anywhere without telling him where she was going first. And half the time she was expected to have someone keep an eye on her. What exactly did he think she was going to do? Scale the walls? If only she was that good at climbing. And if only he gave her back her friggin machete, then she could just ditch this place, resume her normal route around the state. But alas, she still hadn't figured out where the cunning bastard had put it. She caught the tennis ball and froze, watching as Carl and Enid walked over. Slowly she put the tennis ball down and stood up as they came up to her. She darted a quick look at Daryl, half hoping he really was asleep.

"Hey." She said.

"Hey, didn't see you after your shift yesterday. What happened?" Carl asked. Evelyn shrugged.

"I only said maybe, didn't say I would. Besides, not like I can do anything without his permission." Evelyn indicated to Daryl. He definitely wasn't asleep. He didn't make any movements to suggest he was awake, but if he and Evelyn were anything alike, then be would be a light sleeper. The teenagers' talking would have woken him up if he'd been asleep in the first place. Carl and Enid looked at Daryl.

"You can't let him control everything you do." Enid said. This made Evelyn snort slightly and the two others looked at her in confusion.

"He couldn't control me if he wanted to. I do as he says because if I don't then I'll never get my own space. Besides. We had a nice talk. For a change." She glared at Daryl and picked up the tennis ball, thinking.

"Evelyn..." Carl warned. She turned and grinned at him.

"What?"

"Please don't."

"Don't do what? Throw it at him? Come on, it's just a tennis ball. Anyway, he's awake. And it'd serve him right for eavesdropping." Evelyn lazily threw the tennis ball at Daryl and he caught it one handed, looking at her with one eye. She shrugged.

"See?" Daryl glared at her.

"You could have gone with them."

"And have you yelling at me when I came home later than you expected? No thanks, _Dad._ " She scowled, sitting down on the step and catching the tennis ball as Daryl threw it back to her, mildly surprised that she'd called him 'Dad'. She only did it to get the reaction. Quite frankly the word alone out her on edge, made her uncomfortable. But it obviously made him uncomfortable too. She'd have to remember that for future reference.

"Whatever." Daryl grunted, leaning back and relaxing again, though still slightly on edge. Evelyn smirked, quite pleased with herself.

"You want to hang out with us?" Enid asked. Evelyn looked at her in surprise.

"Ah... It... depends a bit."

"On what?"

"What you're going to be doing. There's nothing really to do around here."

"We have ideas." Enid looked at Carl and Evelyn frowned slightly. She didn't much like the thought of what Enid was talking about, but she knew that Daryl wanted her to make friends. Plus she didn't want to seem uncomfortable around others, especially with Daryl watching. She looked at Daryl questioningly and he shrugged. She stood up and went down the steps.

"OK. Lead the way."

"Oi! Rambo!" Daryl called. Evelyn turned to glare at him.

"Really? Stop using that name."

"No. Be back in a couple of hours, yeah?"

"Whatever." She turned and walked off with Carl and Enid.

"Rambo?" Carl asked in a hushed tone.

"Don't ask and never repeat it if you want to keep your tongue."

* * *

"Outside... the wall... you have to be kidding me." Evelyn shook her head as Carl and Enid finished explaining what they were going to do.

"Thought you'd be getting sick of it within the walls, considering you aren't used to having people around." Carl said. Evelyn paused. It was a good point. A very good point. But she was just... well, she didn't want to leave the safety of the walls without her machete. She didn't like being unarmed, and certainly not with the walkers around. But to be out of the walls... to feel kind of... free. Within the walls she was just being watched all the time, and it was rather annoying. She frowned, then nodded.

"Yeah, I suppose."

"Then let's go. It's the switching of the shifts right now, so their attention will be lower." Enid said. Evelyn frowned.

"How many times have you done this?"

"You're better off not asking." Carl said. Evelyn looked at him, unimpressed. He still made her feel unsettled to be around and it was driving her half mad. She shook her head and shrugged.

"Fine then. You're the experts here." Daryl would kill her if he found out about this. She hoped that nothing happened that meant that he'd find out. It wouldn't just be her that she killed. Enid and Carl would also be killed, which would make Glenn, Maggie, and Rick a bit annoyed with Daryl, and then the group would be decided, leaving them open for attack. So, pretty much (worse case scenario) her leaving the safety of Alexandria could potentially cause it's doom. In a sick kind of way it actually flattered her a little, though she wouldn't admit to that. It was nice to know someone cared about her, though weird to think that they were so protective about her. She ignored these thoughts and followed Carl and Enid, ducking out just as the watch was changed. It felt nice to be outside the walls, like a weight was lifted off her shoulders. She sighed contentedly.

"It's nice, isn't it?" Carl asked. Evelyn looked at him and nodded.

"Didn't realise just how much I missed being in danger of having my flesh ripped away from my bones. Weird, huh?"

"You're not used to being around all of them. It's more normal for you put here. Come on." Carl said as he and Enid starred walking off again. Evelyn frowned.

"Where are you going?"

"If we stay near the walls, we're gonna get caught. I've been caught by Michonne before. That didn't go too well." Carl smiled add Evelyn fought to not shift uncomfortably, just followed after them.

"I can imagine." They walked into the surrounding forest, Evelyn occasionally darting a look back from, old habits, making sure she wasn't being followed. Enid dropped back to walk next to her.

"You told me that you hadn't had fun for a while. Why not?"

"I've been surviving, like I said. No room for fun when you have a heard of walkers after you. No room for fun when someone is trying to kill you for taking one muesli bar. Also, I didn't really have any company. Just me."

"I know how that feels. My family died. I was alone for ages."

"It's not fun." Evelyn agreed as she saw the look in Enid face. She looked sad, like she was haunted by the past. At least Evelyn didn't look like she was haunted, though she couldn't tell. She didn't think she did.

"What about you? Why were you on your own?"

"Does it matter? I was on my own. That's all there is to it." Evelyn shrugged, not wanting to talk about it. Sure, for some people it helped to talk about it, but she'd said enough as it was. Carl stopped and flung the pack he was carrying to the ground. She watched him and then looked around. It was a good enough spot, she supposed. Not very sheltered, but it was still quite nice. There was something to lean against and it was reasonably comfortable. But Evelyn didn't feel like sitting down and reading comic books. She thought for a moment.

"There's a stream, river, whatever you want to counot it as, a bit further on. Wanna go there?"

"There's a stream?" Carl looked at her, unconvinced. Evelyn nodded and pointed in the direction of the steam.

"Should be that sort of direction. Pretty safe. Only hard part is getting down to it on occasion. It's a hot day. Couldn't we just... go cool off or something?" Evelyn shrugged, "Your choice." She looked at the other two. They shared a glance and Carl picked up his pack again, nodding.

"OK."


	6. Chapter 6

They weren't too far away from the water. Evelyn could hear it a distance off. She grinned and looked at the others. She hadn't felt quite this way from a while, so burdenless. She knew it was childish of her, but she didn't care.

"Race you to the water?" She asked. Carl looked at her.

"I'm carrying the pack." He said. She shrugged.

"Leave it here. We'll come back this way and pick it up later. I've done this kind of thing before. Don't be a spoil sport." She said, holding out her hand for the pack. Enid looked at Carl incredulously as he handed the pack over. She rested her hand on his arm, making him pause. Evelyn looked at the gesture and felt her heart miss a beat. Were they... why did it matter? She didn't care about them. She was only in Alexandria for... well, that didn't matter.

"Carl, how do you know we'll be able to find it again later?" She asked. Carl frowned and Evelyn rolled her eyes.

"I know this area. Passed through it a few times. Plus I can track. I know what I'm doing. I ain't completely helpless ya know." She said, reverting to her poor speech. She seemed to do that more when she was slightly annoyed at someone. Carl nodded and handed the pack to Evelyn, who swung it onto her own back and quickly climbed up a nearby tree, placing the pack carefully out of the way of anyone going past, high enough up so no one could see it, but making sure it was somewhere it wasn't going to fall out easily. She looked down at the ground and shifted so she could safely jump down without injury, landing on the ground before Enid and Carl.

"So, up for the race?" She asked. Carl smiled.

"You're on." He said. Evelyn nodded, determination in her eye. She burst into a run, Carl not far behind her.

"Guys!" Enid called out, reluctant to follow, but she did. Just at a slower pace. Carl overtook Evelyn (he had the advantage of having longer legs) and Evelyn scowled, putting on a fresh burst of speed. She was not going to be beaten by a boy with a cowboy hat, even if it was a cool cowboy hat. She managed to catch up to him just as the water came into view and slowly began overtaking him, her lungs heaving. She hadn't pushed herself like this for a while, and she loved it. She loved the adrenaline running through her veins. She stared darting over the rocks and was just at the edge when one moved underneath her.

"Shit!" She yelped, trying desperately to keep her balance. Carl grabbed her wrist, trying to pull her back. That only succeeded in making them both fall in the water instead of just Evelyn. She laughed, a proper smile on her face. Not one of her sarcastic smiles, not one of her fake smiles, a genuine smile. She was soaked, but she didn't care. She would only have gotten wet anyway. Carl looked at her in bewildered amusement, just as soaked as she was. Evelyn shrugged, still smiling.

"What?"

"You're smiling. Properly." He said. Evelyn ran a hand through her wet hair, getting it out of her face, the smile shrinking.

"Um... yeah... ha... weird." She muttered, looking away briefly. She started smiling again, slightly evilly, and then swiped Carl's hat.

"Hey!" He said as she scrambled away, laughing, struggling to get a good foot hold on the slime covered rocks. She put the hat on as she finally managed to stand up properly. Carl looked at her, slightly unimpressed but also slightly amused. He hadn't seen this side of Evelyn, didn't think it existed. He thought that she was just the moody, closed off girl that she chose to show people. But nope. She was human, just like everyone else. And she looked nice when she smiled. It lit up her face and made her seem younger.

"Give the hat back." He said in a long suffering tone. Evelyn looked like she was thinking about it.

"Hmm... nah. Think it's probably safer away from the water." She laughed, staggering out onto the rocks and placing the hat a safe distance away. She waved as Enid came walking up, then walked carefully back to Carl and held a hand down to him. He took her hand and she helped him to his feet. She smiled and slowly, carefully, waded out into the deeper waters, looking up at the hills nearby. From that direction, you wanted to be very careful. The path was unpredictable and you could never tell if it was about to crumble out from underneath you or not. It probably use to be an old goat trail, long since forgotten and abandoned, but she had found it. It was a useful trail to know about. She sighed as the water went up to her waist. The water was cool and refreshing. Next thing she knew she was being pulled under. She yelped in surprise as she surfaced, splashing water at Carl in retaliation.

"Bastard!" She laughed. She shook her head, sending water flying everywhere. Carl grinned and shielded his face from the spray. Enid didn't enter the water, just stayed watching them from a safe distance. Evelyn looked over at her and beckoned, but Enid shook her head. Evelyn looked at her curiously, then shrugged and managed to dive under the water just before Carl tackled her. She surfaced, her hair in her face, and turned around to look at him. He was frowning slightly.

"What's up?" She asked.

"Back of your neck. How'd you get that scar?" He asked.

"How'd you lose your eye?" She countered, on edge suddenly, "And how'd you even see that?"

"Your hair moved out of the way and I caught a glimpse of it. And I got shot."

"Ouch." Evelyn rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. A scream pierced the air and she looked over at Enid.

"Shit!" She said, making her way to the shore as fast as she could. Enid was busy wrestling with a walker, trying to stop it from biting her. Carl started to make his way over to his hat, where evidently he had put his gun after Evelyn had helped him up. Enid was shouting abuse at the walker, desperately trying to get it off her. Evelyn bent down and scooped up a rock, throwing it at the walker's head. It stopped and turned to look at her. She frowned. That wasn't normal walker behaviour. It started making its way over to her, abandoning it's attack on Enid. Evelyn changed her stance, getting ready to run. She scooped up another rock at threw it at the walker's head again. What the hell was wrong with this walker? Just because it had little to no flesh left on its arms and it's guts were flopping around all over the place, that didn't give it an excuse to use what little brains it had left.

"Come at me!" She yelled. Could walkers actually understand what people were saying? She didn't know. If any undead freak could understand what people were saying, it'd be this one. The walker lurched towards her and she stepped back, almost slipping on the rocks.

"Carl, how would be a good time to shoot this thing!" She called out.

"If I do that then something is bound to hear us!" He yelled back.

"We can deal with that afterwards! Right now I'd rather appreciate _not_ being eaten alive!" A moment's pause, then a single shot rang out through the air and dark blood splattered on Evelyn face, making her cringe slightly, "Yuck." She mumbled, wiping her hand across to smear the filth on her face when she was actually attempting to clean herself up. She looked over to the others, nodding in thanks to Carl. She knelt down and splashed water on her face, cleaning herself up properly. Blood felt disgusting dried on her face, she knew that from experience. Enid was standing there, evidently slightly in shock, Carl checking her to make sure she hadn't been bitten. Evelyn looked at herself in the reflection for a moment, her hands shaking slightly from the adrenaline still rushing through her. Why had she helped Enid? She didn't care about these two, could have simply used Enid being eaten as a chance to get away from them and everyone back at Alexandria. And yet, that wasn't the only thing she was going to do to save these two today. She sighed and shook her head as she stood up and crossed over to Enid and Carl.

"Give me your gun." She said, holding her hand out to Carl. He looked at her, frowning.

"Why?"

"You said it yourself. Something is bound to have heard the shot. I can deal with it if something did hear the shot. You and Enid get back to Alexandria. Whatever you do, don't let Daryl know I was ever out here. OK? Especially not out here alone."

"I don't really think that – "

"Carl, she at least needs something to calm herself down with. Maybe some sleep or something. She at least needs to be somewhere she knows is safe," Evelyn said, still holding her hand out for the gun, "Just give me the gun and I'll make my way back to Alexandria as soon as I can." Carl sighed and grudgingly handed the gun over.

"Just be careful. If you aren't back soon, then I'm telling someone about this."

"Don't. That's cause more problems. I'll be back. I ain't useless, ya know. This was my life not so long ago. Now get out of here." She said, stepping back and pointing in the direction they should head. Carl nodded and started guiding Enid back to Alexandria. Someone really needed to teach that girl a couple of things. Starting with how to keep a walker off her. Evelyn scanned the trees for any movement and pointed the gun at a couple of walkers that were following Enid and Carl. She fired twice, hitting them both in the head. A gun was evidently easier to aim than a sling.

* * *

She ran, not stopping. She had run out of bullets and there were still walkers following her. Evelyn risked a glance backwards. How many walkers were there exactly? Well, somehow she had managed to lose a few of them. Somehow it was down to only a couple. How had she managed that exactly? Oh yeah, the goat track. Walkers didn't pay too much attention to how close to the edge of a cliff they were. As soon as she could, Evelyn had darted back and was making her way through the forests, roughly in the direction of Alexandria, hoping someone would see the walkers but not her. It was risky, to say the least, but hey. It was all she could come up with at the time. She lengthened her stride and kept running. How much further did she have to go? Where even was she? She didn't really recognise this place. Shit. Of all the times to get lost! Was there some kind of divine intervention to try and kill her? Sometimes it really felt like it.

* * *

Carl looked back the way they had come. They were almost by the walls, Enid was almost safe. She could go back into Alexandria and he could go to try and help Evelyn if she needed it. Daryl wouldn't be impressed if anything happened to her. No one would be. His dad wouldn't be impressed if he found Carl and Enid had snuck out of the walls, either.

"Go inside." He said, starting to head away.

"Where are you going?"

"To find Evelyn."

"She said to go back to Alexandria!"

"She never said that we had to stay here. Go in and make sure you're alright." He called back over his shoulder.

"Carl!" Enid called as softly as she could so no one within the walls would hear her, but Carl took no notice and kept going. Where would she have gone though? She could be almost anywhere. He looked around, wondering which way to go, when a couple of shots rang out through the air. He froze. It hadn't sounded quite like his gun. He ran in the direction of the shots, the worst kinds of thought rushing through his mind. Evelyn had to be OK. If he hadn't suggested it, she wouldn't have been out here in the first place.


	7. Chapter 7

"Crap!" Evelyn yelped as she tripped up, a branch raking up her right arm and cutting it open from her elbow to her wrist. She hissed in pain and looked at it quickly, seeing the dark blood rushing down her arm, then turning her attention back to the walkers who were almost upon her. She shook her head and scrambled up, clutching her arm to her chest. This wasn't good. The dead would possibly be able to smell her blood and it'd just keep encouraging them to chance her, to dig their fingers into her flesh. How did they do that? Use only their fingernails to rip and shred their way in past someone's skin to eat their flesh. She felt sick and stumbled slightly, shaking her head to try and remove the dizziness. She stumbled and fell, scrambling backwards against a tree and watching as the walkers came closer. Going into shock at this moment in time was not a good idea, but she didn't have any control over it. All she could hope for was a quick death, she supposed. Usually she kept one extra bullet for her own use, for she didn't want to feel the pain, not like that. A bullet was a better fate than being eaten alive. She flinched back as a couple of shots rang out and the walkers fell. Evelyn let out a breath she hadn't realised she was holding and looked up. A young man she recognised was smiling down at her.

"Nice to see you again, old friend." He said in his thick French accent. Evelyn laughed slightly with relief.

"Oh my God... of all the times you could have shown up, I am so glad that it was then." She said. The new comer smiled and struggled to put the safety back on his gun. It wasn't too easy with one hand, and Evelyn wondered how the hell he managed to even load the damned thing. She struggled to stand up, but the French guy held shook his head.

"I wouldn't do that quite yet. You'll just end up making yourself feel worse."

"Ah yes, you have been through worse than this, haven't you Felix?" Evelyn muttered, letting herself fall back down and Felix smiled, his red hair falling in his dark blue eyes. He crossed over and knelt beside her, gun in its holster. He flung his pack down next to her and pulled out a first aid kit.

"Oui, I did have my hand chopped off remember?"

"Vividly, unfortunately. Oi! Watch it!" Evelyn yelped as Felix prodded at her arm. He smirked.

"Gotten soft, have you?"

"No! I have not!" Evelyn said, rather indignantly. Felix chuckled and pulled out a bottle of alcohol. Evelyn rolled her eyes, then hissed in pain as he splashed some on her arm. He grinned at her pain and she glared at him, wanting to pull away but not. She was not going to give him the satisfaction of having her pull away in pain. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she did that. He pulled out a bandage and looked thoughtful. Evelyn smiled slightly. This was gonna be good.

"How to wrap it up in a bandage when I have only one hand..." He said thoughtfully. Evelyn grinned.

"Step away from her." Evelyn looked up at Carl, standing there, looking rather protective. She stood up, much to Felix's annoyance.

"Carl, it's alright. You can stand down. Felix here is a... well, I wouldn't say friend, but I've known him too long for him to be an acquaintance." Carl didn't look too happy about it, but he nodded.

"What happened to your arm?" He asked. She sighed.

"Tripped up. Got gashed. You showed up at a great time though. Felix was just thinking about how to bandage the wound one handed." She grinned and looked at Felix before sitting down again. Carl walked over and crouched next to Evelyn. He frowned.

"That's going to need stitches."

"No kidding. Not something I'll be able to hide from Daryl."

"Who's Daryl?" Felix asked. Carl looked at him and Evelyn shrugged.

"He's my dad."

"You found your dad?" Felix asked, his accent growing thicker in his surprise. Evelyn found that quite funny about him. When feeling an extreme emotion, his accent grew thicker. She shrugged again.

"I found him, he found me, bit of both. Who cares? But yeah. I'm stuck with him now." She said. Carl looked at the bandage in Felix's remaining hand (his left) and held out his own hand.

"I'll bandage it up."

"Put a dressing over it first. It'll help keep the wound cleaner." Felix said, handing over a dressing. Evelyn sat still as Carl put the dressing on, not wanting to move and feeling kinda strange. His touch was so gentle. How could he do that? She never seemed to be capable of that kind of thing. She watched as he then held out his hand for the bandage and wrapped it around her arm. Felix watched with a critical eye. Before all this he had been training to be a doctor or nurse or something along those lines. He deftly finished it off, tucking the end under the rest of the fabric and making sure it couldn't come undone with a funny little clasp type thing. He stood back and Evelyn wriggled her fingers slightly. In a strange way she sort of liked the pain from the gash. It proved to her that she could still feel things. If she could still feel pain, then she was still capable of feeling emotions. She darted a quick look at Carl. Was that what this weirdness was? She felt something for him? Now that would be a nightmare. Felix stood up and stopped in front of Carl.

"My name is Felix Legrand. What is yours?"

"Carl Grimes."

"Ah, yes. Your dad is the one in charge of that place... Alexandria? Oui?" Felix asked, rubbing his stump. Carl watched him for a moment, then nodded. Evelyn noticed his hat. He must have grabbed it after the walker attacked Enid. Could that boy go anywhere without his hat? But it was a cool hat. He looked at Evelyn.

"We should start to head back. Didn't your dad want you back before a couple of hours were up or something like that?"

"So? He can shove it. I don't care what he told me to do."

"Your dad. You enjoy your time with him?" Felix looked at Evelyn inquisitively.

"Not particularly. He keeps telling me what to do. It's really annoying and I miss my freedom."

"And yet you so wanted to meet him."

"He calls me Rambo!"

"A name that suites you. Must be the headband."

"I hate you so goddamned much right now." Evelyn muttered, standing up and moving over to the two boys. By now Felix must have been about twenty-one ish, while Carl was only a year older than Evelyn (if Daryl was to be believed). She looked at Carl.

"Lead the way." She said. Felix pulled a sad face at her.

"Hang on, Lynn. You're gonna need antibiotics for that cut, just to be on the safe side. Booze can only do so much." Felix said, pointing at her arm with his one remaining hand. Evelyn sighed and looked at her arm, annoyed at herself for tripping. She had really screwed up this time.

"I don't know if we have much left back in Alexandria." Carl frowned. Felix shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. There's some in the cache last I knew, and unless someone has taken it since I was last there then it'll still be there."

"No shit. It can't exactly grow legs and walk away, though that'd be funny." Evelyn scowled, then started walking away. Carl watched her.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"To get the antibiotics." She called back over her shoulder. Carl jogged to catch up with her.

"And make everyone even more annoyed at you? The longer we're out here, the more likely it is that they'll notice we're gone."

"I'd rather have them pissed off at me than have my arm get infected and not able to be treated. The cache isn't that far away. Hell, it used to be damn near inside Alexandria until you lot came along and we had to move it away so you wouldn't spot us."

"Trust her, kid. She's been doing this stuff since she was about nine." Felix said, nodding once to Carl. Even though he didn't look too happy about it, Carl agreed to the plan. Evelyn nodded in thanks to Felix and smiled slightly.

"I owe should one, Felix."

"One more. You still haven't repaid your last debt." Felix grinned. Evelyn scowled.

"Yeah I did. I saved your ass a month or so after that. Or had you forgotten?"

"Only reason you saved us was because of my plan."

"Your plan failed. I improvised and we got out with our lives. So I still only owe you one."

"Keep telling yourself that," Felix laughed, waving to Evelyn and Carl as they headed off, "Stay safe, Lynn."

"No promises there! You do your best to keep that head of yours. Wouldn't want you to join the ranks of the dead." Evelyn called back. Carl waved once to Felix and then looked at Evelyn like she had just grown a nice pair of horns. She darted a look at him, then looked where she was going, scanning the surrounding area for landmarks she recognised.

* * *

Evelyn grabbed a pile of branches, cringing as pain went shooting up her arm. Carl stepped in and took hold of the branches, pulling them the rest of the way off some wooden planks. He stepped back as Evelyn crouched down beside it and moved the planks away, revealing a square hole with a couple of guns, ammo, a few knives, some food and medicine in it. Carl looked vaguely impressed by the contents of the hole and Evelyn reached in and grabbed a small bottle, checking the label on it before replacing it neatly where it had been.

"When did all this stuff get in there?" Carl asked.

"It's been accumulating for ages. Only a few survivors know how to find the safety caches. Those who do know how to find them are all like Felix and me. Hermits. Never staying in one place too long. We go along and take what we need. If we have more than we need of something we'll put it in a cache for someone else to use. Seems to work alright. Never take more than you need. Stay alive. Don't tell anyone about the caches unless you know you can trust them. That sort of thing." She picked out another bottle and handed it back to Carl while she replaced the wooden cover and then hauled the branches back into place. Carl gave her a hand.

"But how do you know where to find the caches?"

"Well, I was one of the people to set the caches up in the first place. Every time a new cache is set up, a not is left at a random cache. The note is encoded and every one of us has a key to the code. There are also little signs around the place so you can tell when you're nearing a cache. Like on a tree trunk a short while back there was a small carving. The carving pretty much tells someone which way to head. Depending on the side of the tree it is on, you keep going the same direction or turn or whatever. Depending on how many dots are around it, you're either close or still quite far away," Evelyn shrugged, "Not a great explanation, but that's about right. Slightly more to it than that, you have to know what area you're in and where the caches are in the first place."

"How do you know if you're in the same area as a cache?" Evelyn didn't answer for a moment, looking around then starting to walk in the direction she was fairly certain Alexandria was in.

"Remind me to give you something when we get back to Alexandria. Who knows when you'll need it or if you'll need it, but if you ever do then it should come in handy for if you need to find the caches."

"But if we ever needed the caches, you'd be with us, won't you? So I don't need to know how to find all the caches."

"Sometimes things happen. It's always good to have a back up plan." Evelyn said. Carl looked at her, frowning slightly. She confused him. Every time she seemed to actually be telling him something, she would then go and say something that completely threw him and made it seem like she knew something that no one else did. He wanted to trust her. They all did. But when she said things like that, it made it a bit harder.

"Things like what?"

"People die. Or go missing. Or go missing and then die. You never know what the future will hold. Hell, the person you love and trust most in the world could turn their back on you and leave you on your own. And then where will you be? Up the creek without a goddamned paddle and undead freaks will be tipping the boat so they can feast on your innards. And that's the moment when a back up plan comes in handy, that's the moment you pull out a gun or a machete and bash their brains out, giving you the chance to get to the shore in safety," She looked at Carl, "I ain't a religious person. My mom was an atheist. My step-dad couldn't give a fuck what I did. And Daryl was never there, so I never formed a belief until the dead started refusing to stay down. People started leaving. Shit happens. Things changed. Now I think that nothing happens without some sort of reason. I don't believe in Devine intervention. If God existed, if He cared about what was going on here, then something would happen to stop it. Stuff happened to me, my step-dad did things to me that I hated. It put me in vulnerable positions. Now in a way I'm thankful for it. Because it was, in a way, preparing me for this. Me giving you what I'm going to give you, there's a reason behind it. If you need to trust anything, if you can trust anything, trust that." Carl looked at Evelyn and she looked at him. That was the most she had ever said in one go, it seemed like that was the most she had ever said about herself and her past, and parts of what she had said reminded him of what happened to his old friend who died soon after the outbreak. Back at Hershel's farm. He nodded. This was something that he could probably trust. Evelyn could be trusted. It didn't matter how closed off she was. Daryl seemed more closed off. Maybe it was just a family trait.

"Your step-dad. What did he do that you hated?"

"Doesn't matter. In the past. He can't do it anymore." Carl sighed. Just like so that she was shut off again. Maybe she should have grabbed more than just antibiotics. He wondered if there had been any painkillers in the cache. She probably needed them, that cut looked none too friendly, but he didn't say anything. They walked in silence the rest of the way to Alexandria.


	8. Chapter 8

"Looks like we have a welcoming committee." Evelyn mumbled. Carl sighed and Evelyn shoot her head in annoyance, wanting to punch something. Daryl was standing there with Rick and Michonne, looking unimpressed and downright pissed. Evelyn balled her hands into fists, digging her worn down nails into her palms. She was in for it now.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Daryl asked when she stopped in front of him. She raised an eyebrow at him, utterly unimpressed.

"Seriously? You can't work that out for yourself?"

"Don't try to be smart with me." He growled.

"I'm not. I'm asking a serious question."

"Why the fuck would you go outside the walls?!"

"Because I get sick of being stuck in here, maybe? Being in one place for this long puts me on edge."

"So you just bugger off through the front gate?"

"Technically, I went over the wall." Evelyn said, shrugging. Daryl glared at her. Nearby Carl was getting a similar treatment from Rick and Michonne. Evelyn sighed.

"If he's getting in trouble for going outside the walls, he only went looking for me. That's all."

"That's not what Enid said." Daryl growled. Evelyn didn't say anything, just started fiddling with the bandage on her arm. Daryl pointed at it.

"What did you do to yourself?"

"Got cut. I've had worse."

"How'd you get it bandaged?"

"We aren't playing twenty questions, you know." Evelyn snapped. Daryl watched as she pushed past him and headed back to the house. He shook his head. What was he meant to do about her? It was like she wasn't even trying to get along with anyone. Aside from Carl. Those two seemed to get along, which was something. He just hoped that Evelyn wouldn't rub off on Carl. That wouldn't end too well. Rick walked over to Daryl and stood there, watching as Carl was lead home by Michonne.

"What are we supposed to do with those kids?" He asked. Daryl shrugged.

"You know more about this whole parenting gig than I do."

"Yeah, most of the time I make it up as I go along. If I'd known that they were going out there..."

"Don't worry about it. I think they've learnt their lesson."

"You can't be sure about that."

"Doubt Evelyn wants to get her arm hurt again." Daryl muttered, following after the girl. Rick shook his head and headed after Michonne and Carl. Both men were wishing that it was that easy, both men knew that those two kids were not the kind of people to just stop doing something. In Daryl's case he only knew that about Evelyn because of what he was like, and because of what Anne had been like. Was there a chance that she was still alive out there somewhere? If there was, then he had a few questions for her. Starting with why she left Evelyn on her own.

* * *

Evelyn sat as still as she could while the needle was pulled through her skin. It hurt. More than she cared to admit, but it wasn't like she'd die from it. Well, unless of course it got infected and the infection couldn't be fought. She hoped that didn't happen. She looked briefly at the man stitching her up, a guy called Eugene. She thought his hair looked funny, but she didn't say anything. He was one of those people who she wouldn't trust easily. Seemed to know too much and seemed like the kind of person who would lie to people to cover his ass. But on the whole he didn't seem like a bad guy. Daryl slouched against the wall, keeping an eye on her. She wished he'd stop guarding her all the time. Was he guarding her for her own safety, or so that she wouldn't run off? Or was it because he didn't trust her? Or maybe it was all of those options. She wished she could understand his motives, but he was one person who she couldn't really understand. Sometimes reading people was easy. Other times it felt nigh impossible.

"Oi! Watch it!" Evelyn yelped as Eugene missed his mark. He apologized and cast off, tying a knot. He prepared a needle and syringe with the antibiotic, injecting her arm with it before he bandaged the wound again. Evelyn shook her head, scowling at how hopeless he was. Had he even done things correctly? Hell, she didn't know, who was she to question him? She still thought that Felix would have done a better job. But she didn't say anything. Mentioning the redhead would simply get her in even more trouble. Instead she muttered her thanks and pushed herself off the bed she had been sitting on with her one good hand.

"Take this for the pain." Eugene held out a small, half empty sheet of painkillers. Evelyn frowned and turned the sheet over to see what kind of painkillers they were, then shook her head and handed them back to him.

"That stuff would only cause more problems." She said. He frowned.

"Why?"

"I don't think you want to have to deal with me when my face is swollen up and I can't breathe properly." Evelyn said, heading for the door, followed by Daryl.

"Oi! Aren't you forgetting something?" Daryl asked, rather grumpily. Evelyn stopped, sighed, then turned and faced Eugene.

"Thanks for patching me up." She said. Eugene nodded.

"Anytime." Evelyn turned back around and walked off again, trying to ignore the thrombin pain in her arm. It hurt like hell, but she knew it'd wear off eventually. She'd had worse. Daryl walked beside her, not saying anything, though it was obvious that he had questions.

"So you gonna ask, or what?" Evelyn asked. Daryl stopped and looked at her.

"Where'd the bandage come from?"

"I thought I already answered that."

"No, you avoided answering it. Tell me now."

"Why does it even matter? Since when did you start caring? You left Mom, remember? She didn't walk out on you, you walked out on her. If you cared about her, if you ever cared about her, then you'd have stayed."

"Don't turn this on me." Daryl said, stepping forwards. Evelyn felt her heart skip a beat. She had been in this kind of position before. Her step-dad had once stepped towards her in the exact same way. She scowled.

"Did you even know that she was pregnant when you ditched her? Why did you even leave? Was she not good enough for you?"

"Enough! I asked you a question and I expect an answer."

"So do I!" Evelyn yelled back. She was scared. She was sore. She was tired. She wanted to get as far away from Daryl as she could, never wanted to see him again. Maybe it was the pain making her act so insane, making her lose her temper faster. Maybe it was the fear, the memories. She didn't know. All she knew was that Daryl was scaring her. She stepped back, shaking her head and resuming her walk back to the house. She was shaking, could feel it. She'd forgotten how it felt to be threatened in that way. Would Daryl have laid a finger on her? She doubted it, but she didn't really know him. Evelyn fingered the strip of the blue fabric around her wrist, trying to calm her shattered nerves. How was it that she could stare a walker in the eyes and have nerves of steel, but when it came to facing a pissed off Daryl, she became an absolute wreck? As soon as she got back to the house she went and shut herself in her bedroom, curling up in her bed, trying to coax herself to sleep. She doubted that she would get much sleep that night, her arm hurt. She'd never wished so hard that she wasn't allergic to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as much as she did at that moment. Her arm was hurting and the pain prevented her from a sound sleep, waking her up almost every time she moved it.

* * *

Daryl quietly entered the room when he heard Evelyn quietly sobbing in her room. He thought that her arm must be getting to her or something like that. He'd had worse injuries, had one of his own arrows stab him, went straight through. He'd pulled it out and shot a walker with it, but he didn't know how well Evelyn could cope with pain. Anne had been rather squeamish, hadn't been able to cope with the sight of blood, hadn't been able to cope with pain too well. For all Daryl knew, Evelyn had taken after her mom. He sat down on her bed and rubbed her shoulder rather awkwardly. What was he supposed to do in this kind of situation? Evelyn froze, then slowly looked up at him.

"You alright?" He asked. She didn't say anything for a moment then sat up and rubbed her eye.

"When you were pissed off at me... when you were yelling at me. You took a step towards me in the exact same way he did when he was going to... you know." Evelyn rubbed her neck awkwardly and Daryl frowned. He knew she had a scar on the back of her neck, knew that her step-dad had thrown her against a table and it had slit her neck open. She'd been lucky her neck wasn't broken.

"I wouldn't hurt you. I know what it's like to be in that position." Daryl said. Evelyn looked at him and frowned, confused. Daryl looked at his hands, not wanting to face her. He didn't like to talk about it. Like she didn't like to talk about what her step-dad did to her.

"My old man used to beat me, like your step-dad used to beat you. He'd get piss ass drunk and just go completely insane. Hell, he didn't even need to be drunk. One wrong move and he'd just go completely off his rocker." Daryl looked at Evelyn. She was just sitting there with a small frown on her face. She looked concerned, but confused. She shook her head.

"I... Don't really know how I'm supposed to react to that..." She muttered. Daryl smiled ruefully.

"There ain't really a way to react to it. But I would never hurt you. Not on purpose." Evelyn nodded and looked down at the scars on her hands, that scrap of fabric still on her wrist. How did she sleep with it on? She took her gloves off, took her Rambo headband off, but not the scrap of fabric around her wrist.

"Does it ever go? Do the memories of what happened ever stop haunting you?" She asked quietly. Daryl shrugged.

"Depends on you, I guess." He knew he wasn't much good at the touchy stuff. Talking about himself wasn't the easiest thing to do. Probably something Evelyn got from him. They seemed to be more alike than he had ever thought possible. He always thought that he'd never have a kid, and if he did then they'd have a better childhood than he got. Seemed like Evelyn missed out on that. She chewed her lower lip, something Anne used to do when she was nervous. Daryl didn't say anything, just sat there waiting for Evelyn to speak.

"He used to put the jug on to boil just before he'd beat me up. Then he'd go along and pour the boiled water on my back. He'd scream at me, just keep shouting, as though I was the one at fault for it all. Mom would be crying in her room. She never did anything to help me. The only reason we weren't in the city when the outbreak started was because he'd beaten me up and Mom decided she'd had enough. Got me patched up at hospital and then we left. She thought we could find you. Thought you'd keep us safe. Then she left me there, I was nine. I was nine with broken bones." Evelyn shook her head and wiped away a tear angrily. Daryl wasn't sure what he was meant to do, so just stayed sitting there. Evelyn rubbed at her injured arm.

"Why'd you leave her in the first place? Was she not good enough for you? Or were things just not working out? Did you ever have real feelings for her?" She asked. Daryl frowned slightly.

"I didn't want to leave her. Jenna thought it'd be better for Anne if I just left her."

"Aunt Jenna made you leave? She always made it sound like you just left Mom one day. Made it sound like you were some bastard who never cared." Daryl shook his head. Of course Jenna had said that stuff about him. They'd never gotten along. She always saw him as redneck scum or something to that extent. It had always confused him that Jenna and Anne could be so close and yet so completely different.

"Stupid bitch." He muttered. Evelyn didn't look too impressed.

"You do realise that she was pretty much in the middle of the city when the outbreak happened? She's either an undead freak or been eaten. She was my aunt."

"She never liked me, pretty much told me and my brother to stay out of their lives, that Anne was better off without me. That she could do a hell of a lot better than me."

"So you just rolled over and took it like a good dog? You didn't even fight for her?"

"You ask a lot of questions." Daryl grumbled. Evelyn shrugged.

"Call it daddy daughter bonding time if you must. But you were never there for us. If you had just fought for Mom, then none of that stuff would have happened. My stupid step-dad would never have laid a finger on me, he'd never have hurt me or Mom. Hell, he'd never have been part of my life." She shook her head.

"I didn't know she was pregnant. I didn't know she was gonna have a kid."

"That's not how Aunt Jenna made it sound." Daryl looked at Evelyn, could see it in her eyes that she was scared. She wanted to know the truth, but didn't know if she wanted to believe it. Daryl didn't know what to say. It was obvious to him now that Jenna had known, somehow, that her younger sister was pregnant, even if Anne herself didn't know. Jenna hadn't wanted him to be a part of his kid's life, hadn't wanted Evelyn to know him. Evelyn sat there, waiting for him to say something. She didn't seem like she was just fifteen. She seemed so much older at times. How much had she been through?

"Why would she..." Evelyn paused, closing her eyes briefly, "Why would Aunt Jenna ask you to leave? Why would she want me to grow up without a dad?" In the gloom, a lone tear reflected what little light there was and Daryl pulled Evelyn into a hug. For a moment she didn't move, then hesitantly returned it, leaning against him. He didn't say anything. She probably already knew why Jenna had asked him to leave. Maybe she had been right to ask him to leave. He'd never been too sure about how things could end with Anne. Didn't change how he had felt about her though. Didn't change that he would have cared for Evelyn no matter what. Didn't change that this choice had never been her's to make.


	9. Chapter 9

Evelyn jogged up to Carl, her journal in her hand. She said she'd give it to him, so was. Now was as good a time as any. He was leaning against the outside wall of his house, hat pulled down over his eyes. He looked most relaxed, almost asleep. Evelyn walked over and took the hat off him to get his attention, putting it on her own head and handing over the journal.

"Would you stop taking my hat?" He said as he took it back. Evelyn shrugged.

"It's a nice hat. And hey, I got your attention didn't I?"

"Yeah, I suppose. Still."

"Don't touch the hat, I'll try to keep that in mind," She paused and rubbed the back of her neck, "Could I ask you something?" Carl looked up from the journal at Evelyn and nodded. He still wondered how she had gotten that scar on her neck, but she hadn't answered the first time he asked, so he wasn't going to press the matter. Not yet, anyway. Maybe he'd try again someday. He just wished she was willing to trust people with what happened to her. Like that was going to happen any time soon.

"If you haven't already told anyone about Felix... could you not mention him to anyone? It'd complicate matters. Especially between me and Daryl." She chewed her lower lip, obviously not knowing what answer to expect from Carl.

"Sure, but why would it complicate things?"

"Just... trust me on this one, OK?" Evelyn took a step back and started heading away.

"What you said," Carl called after her, making her stop, "About people going missing and then dying. Who'd you lose?"

"I don't know anything for sure. You?"

"A friend of mine. Sophia."

"I'm sorry." Evelyn looked at him. And she was sorry. He could see it in her eyes. Who knew if she was telling the truth or not, who she had possibly seen die. He'd seen quite a few people die himself and doubted that she would have escaped that burden. He half smiled, rather ruefully.

"I suppose you didn't have that problem so much. I mean, you travelled on your own for so long."

"If only things worked that way." Evelyn mumbled. Carl frowned and took a step forward.

"Then who did you lose?"

"Many people." She didn't say anything else, just looked away. Carl spotted Enid a short distance away, the sun shining off her hair. She'd told his dad where they were. If she hadn't then they might have been in less trouble, they might have managed to find some sort of excuse for why Evelyn's arm was cut. And yet he still forgave her. How could he not forgive her? Evelyn snorted slightly, bringing Carl back to the real world.

"What?" He asked.

"Just wondering how long until you two actually get together." Evelyn said, shrugging carelessly. Carl shook his head.

"What are you on about?"

"Seriously, playing dumb is not a very good idea. Especially with someone short tempered and with their arm slit open and the only pain killers around are ones she's allergic to. Oh yeah, that description fits me perfectly." Evelyn said, rather spitefully, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly. Carl looked at her briefly and frowned, unsure about whether she was annoyed at him or her own body for being allergic to something, or if she was annoyed about something else. She was just so hard to understand at times.

"Is it really that obvious?"

"Oh yeah. You just seem... different around her. Hard to explain it. But yeah. Different."

"And there was me thinking that I was just acting perfectly normal around her."

"She acts different around you too. So when are you gonna get together?" Evelyn moved and leaned against the wall, folding her arms. She looked like she honestly didn't care about what was going on in the world. She just acted so... cold and closed off. Carl sighed and sat down on the steps.

"It's more complicated than that."

"How so? The way I see it, the world is ending, we're in the middle of a thrice damned apocalypse. Hell knows, in this kind of situation, putting something off could mean that you never get the chance." She shrugged.

"Her boyfriend died a while ago. He was the one who shot me in the face."

"Ah. Yes. That would make things more complicated. I think." She frowned. Carl half smiled. Sometimes Evelyn could seem so... naive he supposed. Anything to do with the feelings of other people and she just got so confused, couldn't seem to wrap her head around things. He shook his head.

"It's not because he shot me that things are complicated. She's lost a lot of people. Both her parents died, her boyfriend died. It makes things..."

"More complicated?" Evelyn asked, Carl nodded, "Look, Carl, I know very little about people and emotions," Carl snorted, "But I do know that everyone has lost someone they cared about. Sometimes having someone to care about you makes things easier."

"Then why aren't you letting your dad care about you?" Carl asked. Evelyn thought about that for a moment.

"I suppose because I'm scared. No one has cared about me since I was found when I was nine. Even then I was more closed off, didn't trust people."

"Why not?"

"This isn't about me. It's about you and her." Evelyn nodded towards Enid. Carl sighed and took his hat off briefly, ruffling his hair slightly before placing the hat back on his head. He looked down at the journal he was still holding and flicked it open to a random page, confused by all the scribbles in it.

"What is all this?"

"My messy handwriting. No one really taught me how to write neatly. Or in any kind of language that anyone else can understand, evidently." She shrugged.

"Is this what you were planning on giving me to help find caches?"

"Yeah. You'll figure it out. A lot of the time I just draw things in." She stepped over and took the journal back, flicking through the pages and handing it back when there was a sketch of a tree, a small map on the side to show the rough area where it was. Carl looked at the tree, amazed by how detailed it was.

"You drew this?" He asked. Evelyn shrugged, then nodded, sitting down next to him.

"Yeah. It's just a quick sketch."

"It's really good."

"Nah, you should have seen Felix's drawings. Before he lost his hand. He was the one who taught me drawing techniques. That guy had talent." She smiled and flicked the page over, going slightly red when there was a picture of a woman there. The woman was smiling, her hair falling down over one shoulder. She had freckles and a nice, kind smile.

"Who is this?" He asked. Evelyn laughed nervously.

"That is my mom. Or how I remember her anyway. If I had remembered about that I'd have found a way to hide it."

"She looks nice."

"Looks can be deceiving." She muttered. Carl looked at her, slightly confused.

"What do you mean?"

"People who I lost. My mom was one of them. She left me on my own." Evelyn said this rather reluctantly. It was obvious she didn't want to say anything about her mom, but this time she couldn't think of a way to avoid the conversation.

"You're kidding."

"Wish I was. Considering how badly injured I was and that she just upped and left me without any explanation."

"That's rough."

"That's life. It's not nice, it's not fair. It's not something you can change, " Evelyn stood up and took a couple of steps forward, then turned back to face Carl, "Sometimes you've got to take a chance. Before the opportunity is lost." And then she headed off back to the house she and Daryl shared. Evidently he wasn't too keen on letting her out of his sight, but she was someone who needed space. So did Daryl a lot of the time. Carl sighed and looked back down at the picture of Evelyn's mom. How could someone who looked so kind abandoned her own kid? He shook his head and closed the book, standing up and heading back inside. He wasn't quite certain which was worse. Having to kill your own mom, or have her walk out on you when you need her most.

* * *

Daryl headed out of the house just as Evelyn came back, his crossbow slung over his shoulder. He frowned.

"Where have you been? Got up and you'd left."

"Went to check on Carl and give him something. What about you? Where the hell are you going?"

"Out. We need more food, so Rick, Michonne, Glenn, Eugene, Sacha and me are going on a run."

"Well if you're going, then I'm going too."

"No."

"Why the hell not?!"

"Because I can't keep an eye on you and an eye out for walkers." Daryl said, altogether too patiently. It drove Evelyn nuts. She preferred it when he was being all agro. It was so much easier to handle than calm Daryl. Calm Daryl and she had no idea what was happening, how she should respond. She scowled.

"I can look after myself." She growled.

"Yeah, you can look after yourself well enough so if you wanted you could bugger off, and you might never come back."

"Why would I do that?!" She yelled. He looked at her and shook his head.

"None of us know what you would do or what your reasoning would be. It's easier to just leave you here. Less dangerous too."

"So what? You'll just bugger off and leave me, risk your neck, and for what? A couple of crunchie bars? And what if this place is attacked? You still haven't given me back my bloody –" Daryl held out Evelyn's machete to her, making her pause in her angry speech, "machete... um... thanks." She said, taking her machete and letting it fall to her side. Daryl just looked at the blue strip of fabric she had tied around the handle of the machete.

"I don't get why you have that blue fabric tied to everything," He muttered, "Downright weird."

"Mom gave it to me when I was a kid. Before all this stuff happened, before she went and married an idiot. It reminds me of what I had." She muttered. It also kept her going, reminded her of what could someday happen, that things might get back to how they used to be, but she didn't say that. There were some things she didn't want to share. Daryl looked at her and nodded, seeming to understand. He then pushed past her and headed towards where the others in the group were gathering.

"Behave yourself. I don't want to come back and have Maggie tell me you got someone killed."

"Wait... what?"

"Maggie's keeping an eye on you."

"I don't need anyone to keep an eye on me!" She yelled after him. He turned and looked at her.

"Could've fooled me." He said, then continued walking. Evelyn looked back at the house, spotting the motorbike. She looked back at Daryl, then ran after him.

"Aren't you taking your bike?"

"Nah, I'll go in the RV for this one. It's running low on fuel." He said, motioning back to his bike. Evelyn shook her head. She didn't want him to go. Why not? It wasn't like she cared about him or anything. She'd survived so long without him, what did she care what happened to him? And yet... a part of her did care, and she despised that part. She had killed her first person when she was nine, she was used to death, and she didn't want it to come to Daryl. She looked at him, standing with the others that were going out. She put her machete out of the way on the ground and gave Daryl a hug. For a moment he just froze, like she had the night before.

"Come back safe." Evelyn muttered. Daryl gave her an awkward hug back and then pulled away.

"No promises." Evelyn half smiled. He was back to using his old gruff voice, as though trying to distance himself. Or hide how touched he really was. Evelyn picked up her machete and headed back to the house, frowning slightly. Did she care about Daryl after all? Things were getting too complicated for her liking.

* * *

 _ **Two years before the outbreak**_

 _She lay in her bed, watching her mom cry beside her. She felt like she could hardly move. Slowly, Evelyn forced her hand to brush against her mom's. Her mom looked up at her, a shaky smile on her face._

" _Hey, Evie. How you feeling?"_

" _Tired." Evelyn forced out. One of her eyes was swollen shut. Somehow she doubted she would be going to school for a while, not after this, if again. There had been talks about pulling her out of school recently, and after this beating chances were it was finally going to happen and she'd get tutors, home schooled. Her step-dad wouldn't want anyone to know what had happened to her, how this had really happened. It wasn't a trip down the stairs. That excuse had already been used. It wasn't falling off a horse. That had also been used. Most of the excuses that made any sense had been used already. Her mom nodded, gently brushing Evelyn's fringe out of her face._

" _That's entirely understandable. You've been through a lot."_

" _So have you." Evelyn whispered, her voice sticking in her throat. She tried to sit up, but ended up falling back down, clutching her ribs in pain. Were they broken again? She hoped not. They'd only just healed. Her mom frowned, close to tears again. Evelyn looked at her, fear in her eyes._

" _Mom?"_

" _I'm OK. And so are you. Your dad will be taking you to the hospital soon."_

" _He's not my dad. He never will be." Evelyn hissed vehemently. Her mom stroked her head, trying to keep her calm._

" _Maybe one day you won't think that anymore." She murmured. Evelyn wanted to move away from her at that moment. How could her mom think that the bastard who did that to her could ever be her dad? If this is what her 'dad' was like, then what would her real dad be like? She didn't think she wanted to know. She shook her head as much as she could without her neck hurting. She could tell there was something wrong with it, could feel something sticky on the back of it._

" _I'll never have a dad." She said. Her mom looked at her in shock._

" _Things change – "_

" _Not him. Not this. My dad was never there for me, will never be there, and this guy... this guy can go die in a hole for all I care."_

" _Evie!"_

" _I'm tired. I'm going to try to get some rest." Evelyn muttered, rolling over so she didn't have to look at her mom, doing her best to ignore the pain in her side._


	10. Chapter 10

_**Now**_

Evelyn was on watch duty, again, doing her best to ignore the feeling that was creeping up on her. She didn't like it. Last time she had felt like this was when her mom left her without any explanation. Worry. That's what Evelyn was feeling. She was worried about Daryl. She shook her head slightly. She wasn't here to grow attached to people. That wasn't her job. Movement caught her eye and she frowned.

"What the hell?" She muttered, leaving her post and climbing over where Carl and Enid had taken her outside the wall a week or so ago. How time flies when you've got absolutely nothing to do. Her machete was in a sheath on her hip, her hand swinging by her side lazily as she made her way through the surrounding forests. She frowned. She was certain she had seen someone out here – not a walker.

"Oi! Evelyn!" Abraham called out. She looked up at him. She still thought his moustache was funny, though she also liked it in a weird way. It added character. Part of her wished that Daryl would grow a moustache like that, just so she could laugh at how stupid he looked.

"What?" She called back.

"Get back inside the walls. Daryl'd kill us all if he heard we let you outside the walls."

"I thought I saw..." She looked back around, scanning her surroundings again, "Never mind." She sighed, walking through the front gate which was now opened for her. Abraham came down from his post and stood in front of her, holding his gun protectively. That guy was in love with his guns. Noisy wastes of space in Evelyn's opinion. Sure, they could be handy, but when there are so many walkers around, you don't want to draw their attention by shooting a gun.

"Don't head outside the walls on your own. Not without telling someone where you're going, not without someone with you. It's dangerous out there." He said. Evelyn glared at him.

"Yeah, thanks for telling me that. It's not like I lived almost completely on my own for pretty much five years, no. Not at all," She said sarcastically, pushing herself past him and returning to her post, "I know what I'm doing. Stop treating me like a kid." She called back. Abraham shook his head and returned to his own post, looking over the gate. Why did people keep treating her like she was just a child? It seemed like they just kept forgetting she had been on her own for so long. But there wasn't much point in arguing with anyone over it. They'd just keep viewing her as a kid. Even if she didn't act like a young kid, she looked like one. Evelyn rubbed her arm, half enjoying the tingling pain from her cut. It hurt most at night, a dull throbbing ache, kept her awake. She never mentioned it to Maggie though. Maggie just checked on her in the evenings, sometime around lunch, and in the morning, made sure everything was fine and that there was nothing that Evelyn wanted. Maggie also went with her to the infirmary to get her arm checked and redressed, the wound cleaned, that sort of thing. Evelyn looked around at all the people in Alexandria, going about their daily lives. It seemed like there was hardly anything to do, and yet there should be something for everyone to do, everyone should help pull their weight, not just sit around playing tic tac toe, or twiddling their fingers. Or even praying. Praying got nothing done. If it did, then the world would have been a much better place. She didn't understand people, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to.

* * *

Evelyn was heading back to the house after her shift, still confused about what she had seen outside the walls an hour or so earlier. She was certain she had seen someone outside the walls, but Abraham hadn't. It was rather annoying. Had she seen someone or had she been imagining things?

"Evelyn!" Carl called out, jogging towards her. Evelyn stopped and looked at him frowning.

"That name really does make me sound too serious." She muttered.

"Would you rather I called you Rambo?" He asked, rather teasingly as he stopped before her. She shrugged.

"Well, apparently I suit it so whatever. What'd you want?" She asked. It was obvious this wasn't a social call.

"Have you seen Enid anywhere?" He asked. Evelyn frowned.

"I don't know. Why?"

"No one's seen her and Maggie's getting worried."

"Shit," Evelyn hissed, rubbing her hand down her face, "Then I might have seen her."

"Where?" He looked slightly worried at the tone in Evelyn's voice. She shook her head.

"You're not gonna like it."

"Why? Where did you see her?"

"If it was her, and I'm not sure it was her, but... I think she's outside the wall." Evelyn rubbed her injured arm, thinking. What would have possessed Enid to make her go outside the wall? Without anyone else with her? Was she insane? Would she even come back?

"What?"

"I'm not positive that it was her, I only caught a glimpse and Abraham didn't see her, so it might have been nothing, but if no one has seen Enid around the place then... Well, it's a possibility that we can't really ignore, isn't it?"

"We need to tell someone about this. We need to get out there to find her." Carl started walking away and Evelyn grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks.

"No! We can't leave this place undefended." She said. Carl looked at her, frowning slightly in confusion.

"No one's about to attack us."

"That you know of!" Evelyn said earnestly. She sighed and let go of Carl's arm, looking at the ground and thinking, then looking at Daryl's motorbike, a hint of determination in her eye. She then brushed past Carl, heading towards the make shift armoury.

"Where are you going?" Carl asked, heading after her, watching as she grabbed a shot gun from the rack and some ammo for it. He shook his head as he realised what she was planning on doing.

"I won't use it unless I have to." Evelyn said, slinging the shotgun on her back.

"No. You can't go out there on your own."

"Stop treating me like I'm a bloody kid! I've been through just as much as anyone else here! I can look after myself!"

"But Daryl –"

"My _dad_ isn't here. He can go to hell, for all I care. The thing is, he isn't here, and he can't stop me. Alexandria needs all the people it can get. I'll go on my own, find Enid, bring her back. All before Daryl returns," She headed out of the armoury, back to where Daryl's bike was, "All I need is for the gate to be opened and everyone else distracted. Think you can manage that?"

"This is insane!"

"You care about Enid, yeah? Then don't stop me, help me out." She looked at Carl, silently willing him to give in and help her. He sighed.

"I'll see what I can do. Just... be careful. That bike looks way to big for you."

"That's because it is. But hey, I've driven bikes before. Just... not necessarily quite like this one." She shrugged, actually quite excited at the prospect of getting to drive Daryl's bike. She just hoped it wouldn't run out of fuel. Daryl would kill her if – when – he found out about this. He probably would find out. Maggie would probably tell him. She watched as Carl walked away. Why was she doing this? It wasn't for Enid, and she knew it. It wasn't for Maggie either, though it was obvious that Maggie was sort of an older sister figure for Enid. Maybe Maggie had lost someone in the past and Enid was her way of remembering whoever it was? Probably not. But at any rate, it was obvious Enid was important to Maggie, and yet it wasn't for Maggie that Evelyn was doing this. It was for Carl, and Evelyn hated herself for it. She was putting herself in danger for someone who she shouldn't even care about. Nothing was going to plan anymore. She knew some people who weren't going to be too happy about it.

* * *

The gate opened and Evelyn smirked slightly. Carl had pulled through. She turned on the bike and raced through the gate, Carl quickly closing it behind her. He watched as she sped off on the bike that looked way to big for her, hoping like hell that she'd be alright. He also hoped that he wouldn't get in too much trouble for this, hoped that she wouldn't get in too much trouble for it. He shook his head and headed off as everyone resumed what they were doing. Abraham cursed as he came up behind Carl and saw the retreating bike.

"What the hell does that girl think she's doing?" He raged. Carl looked at him.

"Looking for Enid."

"On her own?!"

"She said something about how we can't leave Alexandria unprotected. Said something about how we don't know when we're going to be attacked."

"So you just let her go? You helped her get out of here? This isn't good." Abraham muttered, heading off to find someone so they knew about what was going on. Carl took one more look at where Evelyn had just been, then headed off. There had to be something he could do to help out.

* * *

Evelyn stopped the bike and turned it off. Surely Enid couldn't have gotten much further than this on foot? She shook her head. Enid was a strange one. She got off the bike and moved it to the side of the road, covering it over with branches and making sure no one could see it, then walked off and looked for tracks. She had taught herself to track, had first managed it when tracking a deer. She remembered that day quite clearly. Anyone would. The kid had been shot. Bullet went straight through the deer and got the boy in the side. She frowned. Now that she thought about it, that had been Rick who ran up and grabbed the boy, Rick and another guy who wasn't with the group, at least not anymore. The boy who was shot... that was Carl. He'd grown a lot since then, but it was him. Which meant that she had almost come across her dad when she was still just a nine year old kid. Weird how things worked. At the time she had been worried about the kid – Carl – and she was glad that he'd been OK. She sighed, finding herself quite far away from the road by now.

"Enid!" She called out. She doubted that Enid would come out, she'd left for a reason, but it was worth a shot. Evelyn scanned the ground for tracks, but she had no idea where Enid had gone after leaving Alexandria. She could be anywhere by now, or it felt that way. Hell, for all Evelyn knew, Enid was dead. But she still had to look. As she searched for any signs of Enid, Evelyn starts wondering about the other guy who had been with Rick and Carl way back when. Who was he? Possibly an old friend of Rick's, they looked like they got along quite well. What happened to him? And why were they out there anyway? How come they had been out in the forest in the first place? When Evelyn had first spotted them they had seemed to be searching for something, or someone. Carl's friend? The one that he lost when they were kids? What was her name... Sophia? Were they looking for her? Evelyn found a boot print and knelt down to look at it better. It looked reasonably fresh. Possibly Enid's. Looked about the right size. Evelyn stood up and started heading in the direction it was pointed. Hopefully it wasn't a walker. Probably not, they tended to lurch around and this print didn't look like the person who made it had dragged their feet at all.

What was it like to be shot? She knew what it was like to be stabbed, to be cut, knew what it was like to have boiling water thrown over her. But she had never been shot. She doubted she wanted to know what it felt like. It probably hurt more than her curiosity was worth. Well, it'd probably depend a bit on where she was shot she supposed. In the face, for example, would hurt like hell. Carl was lucky to be alive. Had he been shot twice? Well, at least twice. She looked around, trying to find more boot prints. If there was anything Evelyn could say about Enid, it would be that she was surprisingly good at hiding her tracks.

There was a groan behind her, a strangled growling noise. Evelyn froze, then slowly turned around, her hand on her machete.

"Crap." She murmured. What was it about those stupid undead freak shows and turning up at completely the wrong time?! At least one wasn't too hard to deal with. She stepped forward and sliced it's head open, neatly cutting the top of its head off. She pulled a face at the smell. Even after five or six years of dealing with those things, she still found their smell absolutely disgusting. She looked down at the male walker she had just killed, a habit she had formed. Whenever she could, she checked that the walker she had just killed was actually dead. It was. She sighed and started walking off again. Then she heard more of the strangled groans and turned around. A herd was headed towards her. How the hell had she not heard it earlier? Actually forget hearing them, how had she not smelled them earlier? She ran, not stopping. If she lost Enid's tracks, she would just have to find them again. A hand grabbed her ankle and she tripped up, yelping as pain shot up through her right arm, a jolt of adrenaline coursing through her veins. She rolled over and repetitively kicked the walker in the head until its brain was smashed in, its blood and brains splattered all over her legs. She scrambled up and resumed her escape. Where the hell was she going? She had to make sure she could find her way back again. The ground beneath her moved and she grasped for something to hold onto – anything – but there was nothing there. She fell. When had she gotten so close to a hill or whatever?

"Hey!" Enid yelled, rather angrily. Evelyn looked at her, utterly surprised.

"Well this is awkward." She said, for she had landed in a rather... intimate... position on top of Enid. The other girl glared daggers at her.

"No kidding." Evelyn got off and hauled Enid to her feet, shoving her against the side of the hill that she had fallen down, limping slightly. At worst she had sprained her ankle, but it probably wasn't that bad.

"What are you – " Evelyn covered Enid mouth with her hand and shook her head, holding her finger to her lips. Enid had a disgusted look in her eye, probably struggling not to be sick from the smell lingering on Evelyn's hand from the walker she had killed. Above them walkers could be heard. Slowly Evelyn released Enid and stepped back, adjusting the shot gun so she could fire it if necessary. They stayed still and silent as mice, hardly daring to breathe in case the walkers heard them. Eventually the sound of the heavy breathing from the walkers started to fade and Evelyn lowered the shot gun, collapsing to the ground. Enid looked down at her.

"Why are you out here? You should be back in Alexandria."

"Yeah, so should you." Evelyn muttered, rubbing her ankle. It didn't look too bad. A bruise might form, but so long as she didn't use it too much it should be fine. Enid shook her head.

"I don't belong there."

"Yeah, you do."

"No, I don't!"

"Look here, you spoilt little brat," Evelyn snapped, standing up and glaring at Enid, "You have it easy. You know those people. Those people care about you. And what the fuck do you do?! You bugger off and leave them, sending Maggie and Carl into a panic. You owe them so much more than that, so stop being such a selfish bitch and think about others for once." Evelyn turned away from Enid, running her hand through her hair. She was not in the mood to deal with Enid feeling sorry for herself.

"They don't care about me." Enid mumbled. Evelyn laughed harshly.

"Right, because that's why Carl went looking for me to ask where you were. That's why I'm risking my neck to save you," She looked at Enid, "Look around you, Enid. You think no one cares about you because you don't want them too."

"You're wrong." Enid said, shaking her head defiantly.

"No, I'm not. I know this because in many ways we're the same. We don't want people to care about us. It scares us. We want to be left alone. We don't like having any kind of emotions for other people, don't want to be attached to anyone else. Hell, Daryl's gone and I actually gave him a hug. I ain't a hugger, and for some reason I am worried about him. And it scares me. Terrifies me. And if he knew that I was our here, risking my life to save your sorry ass, he would be pissed off. No one else knows that you left Alexandria. Not that I know of anyway. I came out here, on my own, to take you back to Alexandria." Evelyn rubbed the back of her neck, sighing. Enid looked at her, surprised at how much sense she was making. They were similar, unfortunately. Enid looked away, still thinking of where she could go. Evelyn shook her head and motioned to the wilderness.

"If you want to go, then go. I won't stop you. But it ain't easy surviving out there. You probably already know that. But sure. If you want, go risk your life again. At least I can tell Carl that I tried. At least I can tell Maggie I tried. Go. Just go. If you want," Evelyn turned away and started looking for a way back up the hill, then looked back at Enid thoughtfully, "You do realise how Carl feels about you, right? Just thought you should think about that before making your decision." And then she started walking off. Enid stood there for a moment, weighing her options.

"Ugh!" She huffed, then chased after Evelyn, "Wait up!"

* * *

 **Author's note: Sorry I've been a bit slack with the updating. Bit of a stressful week last week due to school and all that, been a bit distracted on the whole. Hope this chapter makes up for it, at least a little bit :)**


	11. Chapter 11

Evelyn frowned and stopped the bike, looking at the person in standing calmly in the middle of the road. Enid looked around her and frowned.

"Who is that?" She asked. Evelyn shook her head.

"Someone who doesn't want us to go past, I'm guessing. You know how to work this thing?"

"Not really..."

"Just use the throttle and the handle bars to steer it. And the brakes. Don't forget the brakes. Those always come in handy." Evelyn got off the bike, pointing to the bits and pieces Enid would have to use, and handed Enid the shot gun, still watching the guy in the middle of the road. Enid looked at her in horror and confusion.

"What about you?"

"I'll walk home. Just drive straight past him. He shouldn't worry about you."

"What are you going to do?"

"Distract him. Now go." Evelyn stepped away from the bike, hands by her side. Enid shuffled forward on the bike and looked at the handles in terror before taking hold of them and driving away. As Evelyn predicted, the man just let her go straight past without a second glance. Evelyn limped forward and stopped halfway towards him, letting him approach her, watching as Enid continued on her way.

"She better get back safely..." She muttered to herself.

"You mean you actually care about what happens to them?" The man asked. Evelyn glared at him.

"What the hell do you want?"

* * *

"Enid!" Maggie said, pulling the girl into a hug as soon as she got off Daryl's bike. Carl was not too far behind, frowning slightly, but relief still evident on his face. Enid returned Maggie's hug, then handed the shot gun to her. Maggie hardly looked impressed.

"Where the hell did you get this?" She asked, a strict tone in her voice.

"Evelyn gave it to me."

"Evelyn?!" Maggie seemed shocked and surprised at this, looking around at Carl, then rushing off to look in the house for the girl. Carl stepped forward.

"I'm glad you're OK." He said. Enid nodded.

"Yeah... Evelyn talked some sense into me."

"Speaking of Evelyn... where is she?"

"On the way back, there was some guy in the middle of the road. She said that she would distract him, give me time to get back here. Crash course in learning how to control Daryl's bike," Enid motioned to the bike, then looked back at Carl, "She also said it was you looked for her to see if she knew where I was."

"Yeah. I also helped her get out with the shot gun and Daryl's bike." He looked around as Maggie came back out of the house, looking vaguely panicked.

"Where is she?" She asked Enid, who shook her head.

"I don't know!" And it was the truth. She didn't know, not anymore. Evelyn could have been anywhere.

"Shit!" Maggie hissed, going off to find another adult so they could organise a search party. Carl watched her.

"Um... thanks for finding someone to talk some sense into me." Enid said shyly. Carl smiled.

"Anytime. But why did you leave in the first place?"

"That's... Carl, it's complicated." She said, taking a step forward. Carl didn't move, just looked at her. He wasn't too sure how he felt about her anymore. He still liked her, but there was something else. And he wasn't sure how she felt about him. Was it possible for anyone to truly know what anyone else was thinking? Somehow he doubted it. No one was psychic, though that'd be cool.

"Now ain't that just adorable! Mr One – Eye Carl has a girlfriend!" Someone joyfully exclaimed in a thick French accent and Carl whirled around, frowning when he saw Felix leaning casually against the wall. The red head wiggled his remaining fingers at him, grinning.

"Who are you?" Enid asked, stepping forward slightly, poised in a defensive stance. Felix held his hand out, motioning to calm the situation down.

"It's alright, young lady. I know your friend here," He turned to Carl, "How's Rambo?" He asked. Carl frowned.

"Last I saw her, fine. Sounds like she's in a bit of trouble now though."

"She has a knack for getting in trouble, that one. You should get her to tell you about how I lost my hand some time. But that's not the real reason I am here. You should probably be expecting an attack at some point." He said, almost too calmly. Carl frowned.

"Why?"

"There's a group, not too well known. For some reason they call themselves the League. Trust me when I say that they are at least just as bad as the Saviours. Not people you want to get on the wrong side of. They think this place is ripe for the picking. So if I were you, I'd get your people to safety, barricade this place up."

"How do you know all this?" Carl asked, frowning. Felix shrugged.

"A guy will have his secrets. I'm sure you have a fair amount of your own," He smiled and mock saluted, stepping back and away, "I gave you a heads up. It's up to you what you do with the info." Carl watched him as he walked away, Enid behind him. He turned and looked at her.

"Who was that? How did he know you? What happened to his hand? And what was he talking about?" She asked. Carl shook his head.

"We need to talk to Evelyn about what he was talking about. I don't know what happened to his hand, didn't really get the chance to ask him when I first met him. And I'm not a supposed to talk about him to anyone."

"Why not?"

"Evelyn asked me not to."

"Huh, of course. And you do everything she tells you to." Enid muttered.

"She said it would complicate things."

"She's not here! She's out there with some guy we don't even know!" She hissed. Carl frowned.

"She'll get back. She survived out there on her own before."

Daryl watched out the window from his place in the passenger seat, lost in thought. In all honesty he was worried about Evelyn. He hadn't liked leaving her in the first place, though she did seem more comfortable around the others now, but she was unpredictable at the best of times. Who knew how she would have acted once he had left? She'd probably have been a massive pain in the ass for Maggie.

"What's on your mind?" Rick asked. He was driving, and he probably knew what Daryl was thinking about. They'd known each other since the start of the damned apocalypse after all, they'd actually become friends. Despite him handcuffing Merle on a roof.

"Evelyn. Not sure if leaving her on her own was a good idea." Daryl muttered. Rick looked at him briefly, then resumed looking at the road ahead of him.

"You've got to trust her. She needs that."

"You don't trust her that much."

"She doesn't seem to like me much and she seems to know the way I work, even though we hardly know each other. It's unsettling."

"Yeah, I get that. But she could be anywhere and anything could have happened to her."

"She knows how to look after herself. Don't worry about her."

"Mmm. I'll still be glad when we get back to Alexandria." Daryl muttered. Glenn had been listening in from his seat at the back, and he chose that moment to step forward and lean on the back of Daryl's chair.

"So you gotten used to having a daughter yet?" He asked. Daryl looked around at him.

"What do you think? I didn't know about her for fifteen years or so, you think I'm gonna get used to having a kid in just a few of weeks?"

"You just seem to have gotten used to having Evelyn around." Glenn muttered. Daryl shrugged.

"Yeah, I'm used to having her around. Doesn't mean I'm used to being a dad."

"It took me a while to get used to the idea of being a dad when Lori had Carl, and I got the advantage of knowing she was pregnant with him. I knew that I was going to be a dad. Still found it weird." Rick admitted. Daryl snorted and looked back out the window.

"So pretty much I'm screwed."

"You just need time. Spend some proper time with her. Get to know her better." Rick shrugged and Glenn looked from him to Daryl.

"What harm can it do?"

"With her it's like walking on hot embers. One wrong move and your feet get burnt. When I try to get to know her she somehow manages to turn things round so we're talking about how I wasn't there for her and Anne. She doesn't want to talk about herself, only sometimes mentions things that her bastard step-dad did to her."

"Her step-dad?" Glenn asked, looking shocked. Daryl nodded.

"Beat her and Anne, quite a bit by the sounds of things."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. She doesn't like talking about it. Her defence strategy is to try and make me feel bad." Daryl didn't look very impressed.

"Maybe you should tell her something about you?" Glenn suggested. Daryl glared at him. What did Glenn think he'd been doing? Sure, he hadn't said much about himself, but he'd said just as much about himself as she had said about herself. Neither of them were very open about themselves. But maybe Glenn had a point. When Daryl had admitted to Evelyn that he had been abused by his dad, she had opened up and said more about herself and what she went through. He looked away from Glenn and back out the window.

"We're not too far from Alexandria, you can check on her when we're back," Rick said, "Try not to think about it too much." Daryl didn't respond. Not thinking about it was easier said than done. Evelyn was a trouble maker who didn't seem too keen on following orders. She could be anywhere when he got back. If she was outside Alexandria, he wasn't going to be too impressed.

* * *

 _ **Two years before the outbreak.**_

 _Outside the car the lights were flying past in a blur of colour, smearing together in streaks. Other cars were all around them, the sound keeping her awake, occasionally she could hear the sound of them slowing down at traffic lights. Evelyn watched them as best she could, trying to stay awake. She didn't want to be in a car with her step-dad without being able to keep an eye on him and her mom. They were talking in hushed tones about her._

" _Can't you hurry up? I don't know how much longer she can go without someone looking after her." Anne muttered, thinking that Evelyn was asleep._

" _Look, there are laws that have to be obeyed. I can only go as fast as those laws allow, I can only go as fast as the rest of the traffic. I am not going to run any red lights for her, that could make our position even worse. Anyway, we need to think of how she got injured this time." He murmured thoughtfully. Evelyn thought that him saying there were laws to obey was rather rich, coming from him. She doubted that beating up a defenceless child was allowed by law. And as for how this happened to her... why not tell the truth for once? Now that was a novel idea. But she didn't say anything. She didn't want him to know she was awake. She closed her eyes against the brightness of the lights outside as her mom turned around in her seat to look at her._

" _Could we just say it was an accident at school or something? Bullies followed her home after school and attacked her?" Evelyn knew that her mom would say something along those lines. She always did. She never stuck up for her. Evelyn stuck up for her mom, getting put in this kind of situation to try and help her mom out, save her mom from being hurt so bad, and she ended up like this. And what did her mom do? She helped out the man who Evelyn had to refer to as her dad, though she despised calling the man that. He was just the bastard who married her mom and then started beating them up. Why? Why did he insist on hurting them? He never touched his son. When his son was around he acted like a perfect angel, acted as though nothing ever went on. Evelyn loved his son because of it, wished that he was always around. But he was in his late teens and went to another state to further his education._

" _That could work... but then the school will get involved and want to know who the bullies are."_

" _We can always say we don't know the names of the kids who did it. She was almost home, her friend had just dropped her off. It's about the only excuse that I can think of."_

" _We'll settle for that then." But he didn't sound too convinced. Evelyn made a loose ball with her fist, hoping like mad that this would be it. This would be the time he was caught._


	12. Chapter 12

_Now_

Daryl stepped out of the van, Glenn stepping out after him. They each had an armful of supplies, taking them to where everything was stored. Daryl watched as Carl approached his dad, a serious expression on his face. It bothered Daryl a bit, why was Carl looking so serious? He was mildly surprised that Evelyn hadn't come out when they had pulled up. Shouldn't she have gotten off watch duty by now? Surely she was back in the house and should have heard the van pulling into Alexandria. He placed the boxes he was carrying down on the floor of the food shed and headed back to grab some more. Rick and Carl were deep in conversation, Rick looking slightly worried and stressed.

"What's going on?" Daryl asked, heading over. Rick and Carl looked at him.

"Tell him." Rick said to Carl, motioning to Daryl, who frowned and looked at Carl.

"Evelyn's missing." He said.

"What? When was the last time you saw her?"

"This morning. We were – "

"Oh please, don't get your panties in a bunch." Evelyn drawled lazily, reclining on top of the van. When she had gotten there, no one really knew. Daryl glared up at her.

"So where the hell have you been?" He growled. Evelyn looked at him, a look of mild surprise on her face.

"Yes, it's great to see you too Dad. Glad you're alright and all that. As for where I've been... I was outside the walls. Needed some time away from everyone else." She said, pushing herself off the roof and landing neatly on the ground. Daryl looked at her, not sure exactly how to react to her calling him 'Dad' without any note of sarcasm, as though she always called him that. He shared a look with Rick who shrugged slightly. Glenn was standing there with his arms full again and Evelyn mock saluted to him.

"Glenn." She said.

"Ah... hey."

"Maggie probably wants to see you." She said. Glenn nodded and headed off to put away the stuff he had, then presumably to go find Maggie. Daryl stalked over and glared down at Evelyn now he had recovered from the shock of being called 'dad'.

"Why the hell would you go out there?" He raged. Evelyn rolled her eyes.

"Like I said, I needed time to myself. Look, I'm fine, alright? I just get so sick of everyone else always treating me like I'm a kid. I'm treated like I am so much more incapable than Carl, and yet he's only a year or so older than me, and I've been out there on my own before. I know stuff that he doesn't. No offence, Carl."

"None taken. She does have a point." Carl said, though he was slightly confused. Daryl could see it in his eye. Evelyn wasn't telling the whole truth then, and Carl knew it. Brilliant. Evelyn was shaping up more and more to be a flawless liar. If it wasn't for Carl then Daryl would never have worked it out. Judging by the expression on Rick's face, he'd worked it out too. Evelyn started heading off back to the house, but Daryl grabbed her arm. She looked up into his face and scowled.

"What, not interrogated me enough?" She snapped. Daryl frowned.

"Why are you limping?" He asked. She shrugged.

"I tripped, that's all."

"You don't seem to be the clumsy type."

"There's a lot you don't know about me." She muttered, then pulled away from Daryl. He let her go. It was no use trying to get her to talk more. He mightn't have known her very well, but he knew her well enough to know when she was done talking. Carl looked at Rick questioningly, then ran after Evelyn when he nodded.

"I see what you mean about her not saying much." Rick said.

"Something's happened. She was better before I left," Daryl replied, "It's just a question of what."

* * *

"Evelyn!" Carl called out, making her sigh and turn around. She glared at him, arms folded across her chest. Why couldn't she just be left alone for two minutes? She just got back from getting Enid and talking some sense into her. And her ankle hurt. She should probably get it checked out.

"What?" She asked as Carl stopped in front of her.

"Why didn't you tell them you were going out there after Enid?" He asked. Evelyn shrugged.

"Makes things less complicated for her, I suppose. As it is, chances are the only people she'll have to deal with are Maggie and Glenn."

"If Daryl –"

"If Dad finds out that I lied, then I can handle it. I've lied to him before, he figured that out quite quick. I handled it. I can handle this."

"You sure?"

"Pretty sure, yeah." Evelyn adjusted her weight so she wasn't putting as much of it on her sore ankle. Carl frowned at her, concern in his eye.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, nothing that a good bath or something along those lines won't fix. Hell, even just soaking it in a bucket of warm water or something like that would do probably."

"What about the guy?"

"What guy?" She looked at Carl in confusion. He'd said that too fast. What had Enid been saying?

"Enid said that on the way back there was a man in the middle of the road. What happened with him?"

"Oh, right. He was dealt with. Don't worry about it." Evelyn rubbed the back of her neck, closing her eyes for a second. She was tired. She just wanted to collapse into her bed and sleep the rest of the day away.

"What happened?"

"What does it matter? I said he was dealt with," Evelyn growled, lowering her hand and looking at Carl again, "When you were a kid did you get shot? Bullet went straight through a deer and got you?" She asked. Carl looked at her in shock, confused by the abruptness of the question.

"Yeah, just before we met Maggie and her family. How did you know that?"

"I was there. It was soon after I had been found by the family who took me in for a while. I only remembered it because I was tracking that deer, even though the man didn't notice me. Tracking Enid reminded me of that. It was the first thing I successfully managed to track," Evelyn smiled slightly, but the smile quickly faded, "Who was the man with your dad? I haven't seen him around Alexandria."

"Shane. Stuff happened between him and dad and he was killed. I shot him in the head when he came back as a walker."

"Oh." She didn't know what else to say. She frowned, confused by the touch of sadness in Carl's eye. She shifted uncomfortably, feeling like she had said something wrong, but didn't really know what to do. She sucked at this kind of thing.

"You OK?" She asked eventually. Carl nodded.

"Yeah, it's just that he was like family to us and he turned on Dad."

"I... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked." Evelyn said, braiding a strand of hair. Carl shook his head slightly, smiling sadly. She had so many nervous ticks. Rubbing the scar on the back of her neck, braiding her hair, rubbing her arm where she had cut it on that branch.

"It's OK. Dad and I don't talk about it too much."

"Completely understandable. I don't talk about my mom much, don't talk about the family who took me in." She said, slightly hurriedly. She silently cursed herself for blabbering like that.

"Back when I was shot as a kid. Why didn't you talk to us?" He asked. Evelyn shrugged, suddenly unsure about what to say.

"Um... I... had trust issues. Still do. Besides, I had my own people to look out for."

"And now you're looking out for Enid." Carl said. Evelyn bit her lower lip and shook her head, turning away. She hated herself right now. She couldn't explain it. Explaining it even to herself... she felt like that would give the game away. And she knew the deal.

"I wasn't doing it for her." She muttered, leaving Carl where he was. He frowned. What had Evelyn meant? She hadn't done it for Enid? He shook his head and walked off, not looking back. But Evelyn did. She looked back and sighed, then after a moment's pause started limping after him. She needed help. Surely Carl could be trusted?

* * *

Enid walked up to Carl and smiled. She'd changed into clean clothes and looked as though she had just gotten out of the shower or something like that, her hair tied up in a rough ponytail at the nape of her neck.

"Hey," She greeted, "How are you?" Carl thought for a moment.

"Not too bad. You?"

"Pretty good. But..." She frowned. She wanted to make sure she wasn't imagining things. Carl seemed to know Evelyn better than a lot of people here, it was possible that he knew her best. It was either him or Daryl.

"But?" Carl prompted. Enid took a deep, steadying breath and looked him in the eye.

"Something's been bothering me about Evelyn. I just feel like there's something strange going on." She said.

"That's just Rambo for you. She's like that."

"You're calling her Rambo now?" Enid shook her head.

"Sometimes. She does suit it apparently. Daryl calls her it."

"Yeah but Daryl's her dad. Anyway, I mean weirder than normal. She just seems different somehow. Like how did she manage to get away from the guy on the road? He had a gun, she only had her machete."

"She said he was dealt with."

"Dealt with in what way? He could have shot her down where she stood if he had wanted. And after she got off the bike he just let me go. What's so important about her?" Enid asked. She honestly felt like there was something wrong with Evelyn and the more she thought about it, the more certain she was. Carl frowned, shaking his head slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think we can trust her. I feel like she's hiding something from us."

"These days I'd be surprised if someone wasn't hiding something. No one likes to think about their past."

"I'm not meaning like that! I mean that guy who came to talk to you, the guy who came to warn you about the League or whatever they're called. What if Evelyn's part of it? We'd never heard of it before now. She could easily be with them." Enid said. Of course, she had no proof, but it just felt like it was right. It explained a few things. She couldn't explain why she was so suspicious of this, the only thing she thought made her think this was the man on the road. Why had he let Enid go once Evelyn got off? Why didn't he just kill them as soon as he saw them?

"Don't be ridiculous. If Evelyn wanted to do anything to hurt us, then she wouldn't wait to do it. She would have done it as soon as she got here. She's not the kind of person to wait around making plans."

"I don't trust her, Carl!"

"She saved your life."

"She brought me back here for you. It wasn't for me. She wasn't saving my life, she couldn't care less about me."

"What?"

"Seriously, Carl. She's not someone who can be trusted." They looked around and Enid started feeling majorly embarrassed as she saw Evelyn walking away. It was obvious by the way she walked that Evelyn had heard what was said. A part of Enid felt bad, but another part felt like Evelyn deserved to hear it. Not everyone was fooled by her.

* * *

It was dark by the time Evelyn had calmed down enough to return to Alexandria. The first time she had left the walls that day was to bring Enid back. She had lied to Daryl about why she had left the walls. This time she really had left to try and calm herself down, spend some time away from everyone else. She had gone out, headed to the river, attacked a few innocent trees and thrown rocks in the water. She had practiced her aiming, had gone through a few drills with her machete, and had gone for a swim against the currents, trying to make sure she was still strong enough if ever she needed to do that. She would have run back, but her ankle was still hurting. Maybe it was a sprain rather than simply a temporary twist. What more could go wrong that day? She slammed the door behind her as she entered the house. Daryl was sitting at the table making more arrows for his crossbow and looked up at her.

"Where have you been?" He asked, but he didn't sound too cross. Evelyn glared at him.

"Why the hell should you care?" She snapped. Daryl frowned and she shook her head, sighing. She may have managed to work off most of the anger, but it still boiled just beneath the surface. She wished that she had never gone to Alexandria, wished she had never met Daryl, Rick, Glenn, Maggie, Michonne... wished she'd never met Carl. Wished she'd killed Enid in the woods instead of getting her out. She slumped down into the nearest chair and rested her head on her arms, which were folded on top of the table.

"Rough day?" Daryl asked. Evelyn nodded mutely. She was sore and wanted to go to bed, but knew she wouldn't be able to because of everything that had happened. She looked up at her dad, chin still resting on her arms. He was lazily flicking a knife down the side of a shaft of wood. Watching him whittle away seemed to calm her for some reason, though she would still have killed for one of her mom's hot chocolates. Those seemed to be the best cure for any kind of anxiety or anger back when she was a kid.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Not particularly. What about you? Anything happen when you and the others were on the food run?"

"Ran into a group of people. Had a nice chat. Went our separate ways. Got back and found you had buggered off," He glanced at her, "Glad you came back, though." Evelyn smiled slightly and Daryl couldn't help but smile back. She had her mom's smile, a dimple on her right cheek. It was obvious the girl had gotten wet at some point – her face wasn't as dirty and the pale freckles on her cheeks and nose stood out more. She sat up straight and rubbed her sore arm. He nodded at it.

"How's it feeling?"

"Better than it was, which I am quite happy about. Still hurts a little though. Eugene probably won't be too happy that I went... damn. Wasn't going to say it."

"It's know obvious you've been out of the walls again, Rambo. You're slightly wet and no one saw you since Carl talked to you."

"Yeah, well... Something happened that pissed me off."

"You didn't get your mom's temper, I can tell you that." Daryl checked the tip of the arrow and Evelyn shook her head slowly, thinking. She pushed her chair back roughly, letting it grind on the floor. She started pacing around, feeling the anger starting to boil again.

"What am I supposed to do if someone I thought was a friend then goes and admits to someone that they don't trust me at all? That they think I'm part of a group that wants to see the fall of Alexandria? How am I supposed to react to that?" She raged, rubbing the back of her neck. Daryl looked at her and frowned. He wasn't too sure if he was expected to say anything or just listen. Evelyn shook her head and then punched the wall, pain shooting up her arm. She winced and leaned her back against the wall she had just punched as the world started spinning. She sat on the ground and a couple of seconds later felt Daryl sit down next to her.

"I went out there to find her and bring her back, and for some reason she doesn't trust me. And then there are things that... ugh! Why am I so pissed off about this?! Usually I don't care what others think about me. Why is this getting to me so much?" She looked at Daryl, "What am I supposed to do?" Daryl wasn't too sure and Evelyn sighed. She knew he wouldn't be too sure, but it was nice to have someone who she could talk to. She let her head flop against the wall as she looked at the ceiling, as though it could give her some answers.

"No one really liked me or my brother Merle when we first joined the group. Hell, no one liked Merle except me. Before the world went to shit he seemed to have a way with the ladies and got along with his old army buddies, but he wasn't the easiest person to get alone with, and I won't say anything about being a saint myself. Hell, people found me really hard to get along with. When I first met Rick I was pissed off at him because he handcuffed my brother to a roof in Atlanta and left him there," Evelyn looked at Daryl, a small frown of concentration on her face, "I hated him for it. Didn't see Merle again for ages. Thought he was dead. Slowly we started getting along, people started understanding me. This is probably just one of those things that you gotta give time. You're a Dixon. No one likes us Dixons straight off the bat."

"But I thought she was my friend. I know I didn't really treat her like a friend, but... I thought she was. I didn't tell her much about me or where I'm from or anything like that but I thought I could trust her. Then she goes and tells Carl about how she doesn't trust me. How I'm a danger to the group." Evelyn muttered, looking at her shoes. They were covered in mud and she could feel moisture soaking through them to her socks. She'd need new ones soon. In all honesty these were probably too small for her by now, anyway.

"She'll get over it. If it's Enid we're talking about, she probably didn't like you going out there and bringing her back."

"You mad at me for doing it? Going out there alone to bring her back?"

"Hell yeah, I'm bloody pissed. But you came back safe. And you didn't wreck my bike." He glared at her and she grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah, sorry about that... I figured I needed to find Enid fast and catching up with her on foot would have taken too long."

"Next time find your own bike," Daryl nudged Evelyn and she rubbed her eyes tiredly, "Get some rest. If you're still limping tomorrow get it checked out. You probably need your arm checked on again too."

"Yes, Dad." Evelyn teased as Daryl gave her a hand up off the ground. Silently she headed to her room, pausing before shutting the door. She looked at Daryl thoughtfully, taking her headband off and starting to braid it, tying it up with her headband. Daryl was sitting back on his chair, whittling away at an arrow again.

"I'm glad that you're my dad and not some other random guy." She said, making him look up in surprise and just about cut his finger, "'Night." She said as she quietly closed the door behind her. Daryl just sat there in stunned silence, not too sure about what just happened.


	13. Info

**Author Note: I don't usually do this, but hey! First time for everything. I put up a poll (no clue how to use them exactly... just a warning, I am a bit of a tech dunce at times), but pretty much it'should just asking if you want a sequel to Dixon Daughter or not. I have an idea for it, and I am slowly working on it, I'd just like to get an idea of whether or not people think it'should worth having a sequel. So, if you can find it, please, cast your vote and I'll decide whether to put the sequel up or not once I've finished this one. Thanks :)**


	14. Chapter 13

Something fell over outside her bedroom door, waking her up. Evelyn sat up abruptly, confused about what was happening. It was still gloomy outside, the sun only just starting to look like it was thinking of rising. Her door crashed open and a man she didn't recognise stormed in, a vile grin appearing on his face as his eyes landed on her. Evelyn scrambled under her pillow, trying desperately to find the gun she kept under there. The man froze before collapsing to the ground, a bullet hole going right through his skull, brains splattered on the floor and door behind him. Evelyn threw the covers off and got out of bed, gun pointed at the man still, despite him being dead. The sound of gun shots echoed around outside. She stepped past the man and went to look for Daryl. When she didn't find him she went outside, her feet freezing from the cold ground as she walked. She spotted Daryl not too far away, fighting with a man who was trying to stick a knife in his gut. There was another person – a woman – coming up behind him, a gun pointed at his head. Evelyn didn't hesitate. She pointed her gun at the woman's head and fired. The woman collapsed in a heap on the ground just as Daryl managed to stab the other assailant in the head. He turned around and looked at the woman behind him, then at Evelyn as she started walking towards him.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"We're being raided."

"No shit. But how did they get in?"

"Front gate. Killed the guy on duty and barged on through."

"Shit. Where is everyone else?" Evelyn asked. She was worried about them, about her friends. Daryl shook his head.

"Don't know." He said. Evelyn looked around, then pointed a gun at someone coming up to them, not someone she recognised. Daryl held his knife at the ready. What happened to his crossbow? Probably still in the house, well, hopefully. She didn't want him to have lost that crossbow. It was cool. The person approaching them pointed a gun at them. Evelyn pulled the trigger and the person dropped to the ground.

"I seriously hope that wasn't a friend." She muttered.

"It was either them or us." Daryl said. Evelyn nodded and they started walking, looking for the others.

* * *

Felix watched as Alexandria was infiltrated. He had warned them. It wasn't his fault that this was happening, but he doubted that all the warning in the world could help anyone against these people. He shook his head. Just once he would like to actually be able to save one community. Just one. Felix turned and started to walk off. He knew that if the League succeeded, then there would be no survivors. There never were. Why else would people have never heard of them? They were ruthless and cruel and didn't want anyone to know about them, so killed everyone they attacked.

"Felix. I had a feeling you would have been here." A deep, rumbling voice crooned. Felix felt his guard go up, felt like he was slowly being surrounded. He knew what was going to happen.

"Well, this is where I usually am at this time of year, Boss." He said, rather calmly considering how on edge he felt. He turned around and looked at the man in the shadow. He couldn't see the guy's face, but Felix knew who it was.

"Usually you don't stay around this long. I wonder why you did this time?"

"I doubt that. You probably already know."

"Yes, I suppose I do. And I don't really like people giving my plans away." The man's voice held a threatening tone. Felix looked around as someone took his gun from its holster. He looked at the young woman and shook his head. She just looked him in the eye, her face emotionless. He knew her. She had been his friend when the apocalypse first started. The man whom Felix had called "Boss" stepped forward, the shadows from the leafy trees above him dancing over his face. Felix looked down. He knew this guy didn't like the lowers to look in his face. It was much like a wolf pack in some ways. Don't challenge the alpha male and you don't get killed. Usually. Unfortunately, his boss was less predictable than that. What Felix said now would probably determine whether he was going to live or get killed. He hoped that he'd manage to say the right things to ensure his survival and not get anyone else in trouble.

"I didn't mention anything that would effect your plans." He said.

"Didn't your mom ever teach you not to tell lies?"

"I'm not lying."

"We know it was you who told them about our plan to attack. You warned them."

"Because I knew you had other plans."

"We could have had this all finished in one night, but no. We have to continue with the original plan. The girl's work was for nothing."

"Leave her out of this." Felix hissed, looking up and glaring at his boss. The man looked down at Felix, clearly wondering why this man, no, this boy, was daring to look him in the eye.

"You care for her?"

"They were close when they travelled together, sir. His family saved her."

"Sara, shut up." Felix muttered. She shook her head.

"Look here, Froggy. You can't tell me what to do anymore. You never could. I'm out from under your thumb, now. I have been freed." She said. Felix shook his head. She wasn't free. She was more controlled and brainwashed than ever. And where had 'Froggy' come from? Sure, he was French, but no one had called him that before, though Evelyn had called him Toad once or twice when they had first met, when she was just starting to talk to them.

"I never wanted to control you." He said to her. He still had feelings for her, even after all these years. She smirked, looking mildly disgusted.

"She doesn't feel anything for you anymore, Felix," He turned to face his boss again, "Sara obeys me in everything she does. So does your little friend. What does she call herself these days? I'd swear she got herself a new nickname."

"She has nothing to do with this."

"Wrong! She has everything to do with this! She is the key to the whole thing." His boss nodded and Felix felt his hand being twisted behind his back painfully, forcing him to the ground. Next thing he knew he was being whacked in the head with the butt of his gun, and then there was nothing.

* * *

Evelyn reclined against the wall of the church. Seemed that this was the usual place for meetings like these. Carl and Rick were up the front, talking. Rick nodded and Evelyn paid closer attention. Daryl stood next to her, reclining against the wall in a rather similar fashion. Even without knowing each other for fifteen years, they still had very similar habits Evelyn noticed. It was interesting.

"We all know why we're here. We all know what just happened, and we know how many people we lost. Now, we don't have the time to feel sorry for ourselves right at this moment, we don't have time to mourn properly. We'll bury our dead and then we have to get to work reinforcing the walls for another attack," Rick paused, pointing in the direction of the nearest section of the wall, "Now, the people who attacked us call themselves the League." Evelyn froze, tensing slightly. Daryl must have noticed, because he frowned. From her seat near the front Enid turned around and looked at her. Evelyn swallowed and pushed herself away from the wall.

"We don't know much about them, but we're fairly certain that they were the ones who attacked us. We need to assume that they won't stop at just one raiding party. They'll be back and they'll try again." Rick continued. Evelyn looked at her feet, thinking. She sucked at talking in front of this many people. Hell, when she had first met Felix and his family she hadn't said anything to any of them for ages. First thing she said wasn't too long before she saw Carl get shot.

"We need to be ready when that happens. We have lost enough people already." Rick said. What do you say in this sort of situation? People in the audience had lost people they cared about. Might have lost the only person they had left. Evelyn darted a look at Daryl. She didn't know how she would react if she lost him so soon after actually coming to terms with the fact that he was her dad, and that she actually rather liked having him around. He was about the only person who truly understood her, or came the closest to it.

"You said we don't know much about them. That's not entirely true." She said, stepping forward and making her way to the front. Rick looked at her, hands on his hips, a look of surprise on his face. She saw Carl looking at Enid from the corner of her eye and bit the inside of her lip. She stopped in front of Rick.

"I've encountered them before. I stayed with them for a week or two. I know a bit about how they work, how they think. I know their set up, how many people they have." She said. Rick nodded.

"We'll need to talk to you about that later. Might give us what we need to take them down," He looked back at his audience, "Because that's the only choice these people have given us. They attacked us in our homes. They attacked us first. If we just let them attack us without a response, then they'll just come again. We need to hit them where they are, send them a message." There were murmurs of agreement from the crowd and Evelyn looked around, dread rising in her throat. She didn't like this. Her eyes landed on Daryl, who was still leaning casually against the wall. Their eyes locked and he nodded. Evelyn nodded back. He seemed like he approved of what she had done, but... was that disappointment in his eyes? She hadn't told him that she had ever stayed with the League.

"So Enid was right about you being part of the League." Carl muttered to her so no one else could hear. Evelyn shook her head.

"No. I wasn't with them very long. Resumed life as a Nomad."

"Nomad?"

"It's what we call ourselves," Evelyn looked back at Carl, "Those of us who move around all the time. We call ourselves Nomads. That's what we are, so that's what we call our group. I didn't name us. Someone else did."

"OK. But you were still part of the League. Why?"

"Because shit happens and people die."

* * *

"It's a largish community, pretty reasonable sized complex too. Last time I was there, there was maybe... 80 people? Somewhere around there, possibly more. A significant portion of them were military trained. Either military or assassins and the like, I think." Evelyn pointed at the rough sketch of the area she had drawn. She frowned, concentrating.

"It's alright, take your time." Rick muttered.

"The thing is, I haven't been there for what feels like ages. Things might have changed, there might be more people I don't know about, might be different patrol routes, my info is out of date. Anyway, these people are worse than the friggin Saviours." She looked at Rick, wanting him to understand her. She didn't think that going and attacking them was a good idea. She knew these people, knew how they worked. In her opinion, their best chance was to leave Alexandria and go somewhere else, away from these people. But no. Rick thought that they could fight, and of course the Ricktator knew best. Evelyn looked back at the sketch – a bird's eye view – and added another dotted line to show another patrol route.

"You've been everywhere, haven't you?" Daryl muttered. Evelyn darted a quick look at him and shook her head. She knew he wasn't impressed with her not telling him about the whole League thing.

"I only know of the Saviours is because I have heard stories when travelling and I've had to deal with a few of them a couple of times," She pointed at the map where she had drawn the dotted line for the benefit of Rick's suicide planning, "Usually there are about three people in a group on patrol. On the walls there are always something like five people per section. The head guy is usually in the middle of the complex, but he does move around every now and again so if someone does come and attack them, they don't really know where to find him. Defence is rather thorough, and there aren't many civilians. They usually get their supplies from raiding other surviving communities. If they decide to take someone hostage, they put them into sort of... slavery? Almost? Something like that. I don't really understand that part, I was just put straight into training, hence my ability with a machete."

"You got trained by military?" Daryl asked. Evelyn shook her head.

"No, I got trained by a guy called KC. He was an assassin before all this."

"Well that's so much better." Daryl muttered. Evelyn shrugged.

"Hey, I'm still here aren't I? Stop complaining. Anyway, KC is one of the people you have to watch out for. He was one of the top fighters there, him and a girl called Sara. She's pretty much the deputy head goon for the boss, knows her way around a sword." Evelyn looked up at Michonne, who looked as serious as she ever did, contemplating what Evelyn had just said. Rick pointed at one of the back walls, one that Evelyn had marked a gate in.

"What's around there?"

"Undead freaks. No one goes there. On the ground there's a small herd of them, maybe thirty or forty, somewhere around there. There are still guards standing on the walls, but less of them. Only a couple, but I wouldn't recommend entering there. If the undead freaks didn't get you, if the guards didn't get you, then there are other protective mechanisms around the place. If you're really keen on getting into this place," She looked back at Rick and sighed at the look of determination on his face, "Then I would recommend going in through this." She marked a circle on the map, which in reality would be about a mile or so out. Daryl crossed over to sit next to her and frowned.

"Sewers?"

"Sorta. Out of use, probably walkers and the like in there, but the thing is that for some reason the League leaves it unprotected. Place a pretty big rock over it to hide it and then just leave it. You should be able to move the rock and get in there, but I'd recommend leaving a couple of people or so behind to move it back into place. They may leave it unguarded, but a patrol still goes past it."

"These guys know what they're doing." Daryl sounded vaguely impressed and Evelyn raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yes, they know what they're doing, and quite frankly I think you lot are idiots to try and beat them. You're way outnumbered, out gunned, and on their home turf. This isn't a good idea. At all."

"If we go in through the sewers," Rick said, placing his hand on the table next to the map, "Where would we come out?" Evelyn scowled and marked another circle on the map, near the edge of the inside of the wall.

"There. And yeah, people might see us, but if we're quick enough – "

"We?" Daryl asked, his eyes narrowing slightly. Evelyn glared back at him.

"Yes, we. I ain't letting you go in there on your own. I'm the only one of us who knows the place."

"By the sounds of things, they don't like people knowing about them. How happy were they about you leaving them?" Rick asked.

"I snuck out. Hell, Dad knows that you can't stop me sneaking out even if you want to. I don't really know when they found out I was gone."

"How'd you sneak out?" Michonne asked.

"Through the walkers. They didn't think anyone would be dumb enough to try to sneak out through them. Didn't realise that the smell of dead things covers your own living scent and you can just walk straight through the crowds."

"Then why can't we do that?"

"I honestly wouldn't recommend it. I was lucky." Evelyn admitted. Daryl thought for a moment.

"Rambo's right. The sewer would be a better idea."

"Right. There is a building not too far away that we –"

"Not you. You're staying here." Daryl interrupted.

"Why?! You need someone who knows the place!"

"That's why you're telling us about it now. We need people here in case they attack again." Rick said, darting a quick look at Daryl that Evelyn did not fail to miss. She scowled, placing the pencil down on the table and standing up to cross over to grab more paper. They were just going to leave her here? Nothing could happen to them. She wouldn't let it. But how was she supposed to avoid it if she was being forced to stay here?

"I know the environment around there. I know who you are meant to be looking out for, who is dangerous and who can be safely avoided. I'm an asset, and you're busy taking my dad's side again? Just because I'm his daughter?" She turned around to glare at Rick, "When I first came here you took his side and I didn't get my machete back. And now you're taking his side again and losing yourself an advantage."

"This isn't my choice to make." Rick said, holding his hands up in a semi surrendering fashion. Evelyn looked at Daryl, anger in her eyes. She walked back over to them and sat down at the table, the paper in front of her, and she started drawing.

"It's not his choice to make either." She muttered darkly.

"I ain't putting you in danger."

"Wake up and smell the roses, Dad! I'm in danger no matter where I am, there ain't no such thing as safety anymore. Hasn't been such thing as safety for me since I was a seven year old kid!"

"You aren't coming with us."

"So you get the glory when you succeed? Or so that you end up dying a horrible bloody death without me there to see it? So that I don't get killed too? What are you so afraid of?" She looked up from her drawing and held Daryl's eye. He was scowling.

"You aren't coming." He said, not answering her questions.

"Fine. Enjoy getting yourselves killed." She stood up, taking the beginnings of her sketch with her as she stormed out. Daryl watched her go. He didn't want her to get hurt, and if she had escaped the League, then chances were that they would kill her on sight. He didn't want that to happen. He heard the door slam shut behind her and shook his head, looking back at the map she had drawn. She got her ability to draw from her mom.

"You OK?" Michonne asked.

"Why wouldn't I be? Let's just get this sorted and then get going. Sooner we go, sooner we get there." He replied, rather gruffly. Michonne and Rick shared looks. They knew that Daryl didn't like pissing off Evelyn. No one did. That girl had a temper.


	15. Chapter 14

Blow after blow rained down on Felix, first one to the gut, then one to the head, then, the think for a change, one to the gut again. There was a sickening rhythm to it. One, two, one, two, then head shot. His boss stepped back and admired his handiwork as Felix spat a glob of blood out onto the cold stop floor, trying to find grip under his feet. The only way he could describe this room was a medieval style dungeon. Hell, there was pretty much a torture wrack situated in the middle of the room, and he knew it set up especially for him.

"Do you think you've learnt your lesson yet, Felix?"

"I learnt my lesson as soon as I joined you. You're a stupid son of a bitch." Felix spat at the feet of his boss, a small amount of blood spattering his shoes. His boss just smiled before lunging forward and bashing the side of Felix's head, making the world spin.

"Sir, if our estimates are correct, then they should be here soon enough." Sara announced as she entered the room, hardly even darting a glance at her old friend. By now Felix was having difficulty even thinking of talking. He was certain that something was at least fractured in his jaw or something. One of his eyes was almost completely swollen shut and his arms had lost pretty much all circulation, the numbness in them rather painful. It hurt to breathe, and he knew that chances were most of his ribs were at least cracked. Despite all this, he counted himself lucky. He hadn't had his fingers or toes broken, he hadn't been fed to the dead. For whatever reason, he wasn't dead yet. There was still a chance he'd get out of this.

"Of course. I'll be out to get cleaned up soon enough," The boss looked over at Felix, "Just let me finish up here first." Sara darted a look at him then and there was a flicker of something in her eyes. Pitty. She didn't do anything to stop it though. She simply nodded and left the room, once again ignoring Felix and what was happening to him, the condition he was in. The boss smiled maliciously, stepping forward and removing the restraints holding Felix in a standing position, the blood rushing back into his arms, giving him time to regain feeling in his fingers before stepping forward to kneel next to him. The boss took Felix's chin in his hand and forced the young man to look him in the eyes.

"Now, I'm going to warn you now. This is going to hurt." He said before grabbing Felix's one good hand and pulling each and every finger, twisting them, bending them too far backwards, breaking them in multiple ways. Felix couldn't stop the cries of pain from escaping him. Chances of his escape were lessening by the second.

* * *

She moved the pencil in short, quick movements, shading in the picture she was drawing. She was continuously mumbling rude things under her breath, muttering about her dad being so stupid.

"'It's too dangerous. I ain't putting you in danger.' Well, go to hell, Daryl. See if I care. I mean, it's not like you're going and invading the camp of some of the most dangerous people left in the world, no! Not at all." Evelyn stood up, swiping the paper away angrily as her pencil hit the paper at a mildly wrong angle. The paper flew off the table, her pencil and rubber flying off into a corner somewhere. She growled, annoyed by the tiniest little thing, annoyed that she was annoyed. It all boiled up inside her and she lashed out again, this time picking up the chair she had been sitting on and throwing it over to the other side of the room with a loud crash. After a couple of moments, Evelyn crossed over to the wall and sat down next to it, pulling her hair back out of her face, her knees pulled up to her chest as she stared vacantly at the ground, her chest moving up and down as she took deeper breaths than normal. Why was she acting like this? It was like she actually cared for the guy, when she wasn't allowed to. It wasn't permitted. Caring for anyone in this place was wrong. Forbidden. No one survived this world. If you care for someone, they're going to die. That was how things worked. Her mom had left her, and that was the end of it. Her mom had cared for her, she had thought that her mom had cared for her more than anything. It turned out that Evelyn was more wrong than she could ever have dreamed. If her mom had left her, what was to stop anyone else leaving her? That was why she couldn't care for anyone. They were all just going to leave her in one way or another. Even Daryl. Her eyes flicked over to the picture she had been working on and she reached out to pick it up, looking at it and thinking. Slowly she stood up again and placed it on the table before she went in search of her pencil and the rubber, then picked up the chair and resumed her drawing.

"You're not gonna die on me, Daryl. There ain't no chance in hell I'm gonna let that happen. I'm going with you whether you like it or not." She muttered, determination in her eye as she resumed drawing, shading and shaping the face of the man on the paper.

* * *

"This would be so much easier to plan if Evelyn was still here telling us where everyone will be." Glenn muttered, peering at the rough sketch of the land. Rick nodded and Daryl scowled.

"If she was here, she'd be planning how best to follow us in." He muttered. Rick didn't want to say it, but he didn't really see how that would be much of a bad thing. Evelyn had information that could be useful to them under pressuring circumstances. If she was there with them, they wouldn't be at quite such a strong disadvantage. But it was obvious who she got her temper off, and that was Daryl. And, all things considered, Rick didn't hugely want Evelyn there from a personal perspective. They'd never really gotten along for some reason.

"Her coming wouldn't have been such a bad idea," Abraham said, earning a glare from Daryl, "I'm only saying that because even if she's not here, planning how to follow us in, chances are she's still gonna find a way to get out there. Having her with you means that you can keep an eye on her."

"I ain't taking that risk. She's staying here."

"She did say that it's hard to keep her where she doesn't want to be, and you know it." Maggie looked at Daryl, leaning forward in her seat slightly. Rick decided that now was a good moment to step in.

"Whether Evelyn is with us or not doesn't matter, it doesn't change what we have to do. We go in the sewer, someone's going to have to stay up top to cover the entrance up again, and we can't have too many people for the infiltration."

"I'll stay up top, defend your retreat." Eugene said. Abraham nodded.

"I'll stay to keep an eye on him."

"Anyone else want to stay up top or stay behind?" Rick asked after nodding at the two men. There was silence.

"Probably better if we don't have quite this many people." Daryl muttered, evidently still annoyed about Evelyn being brought up.

"Who here isn't too comfortable with what we're about to do? It's completely alright if this isn't something that you want to do." Morgan was standing in the corner, listening. He stepped forward.

"I'll stay behind, keep watch over Alexandria." He said. Rick knew how he thought. The whole 'all life is sacred' speech was all too common over the past few years. It made sense that Morgan wouldn't want to come, though he was one of the best fighters they had. His ability with that staff of his was impressive, so if he had decided to come it would have been good, but it was rather predictable that he wouldn't want to come. A few others stepped forward who didn't really want to come, though they felt like they should. By the end of it, Michonne, Sacha, Glenn, and Maggie were about all who were left. The numbers were good, not too many, but Rick also doubted too few. Eight people in all, including himself, Daryl, Eugene, and Abraham. Sure, a couple more wouldn't have gone amiss, but they were going for stealth rather than numbers. He nodded and leaned back in his seat.

"Alright. We leave in an hour, tops. Make sure you're ready."


	16. Chapter 15

**_Two years before the outbreak_**

 _"She's going to be fine. A bit sore for a while, but fine." The nurse said. Evelyn opened her eye just a crack and looked at them, her step-dad had his arm around her mom's waist, pulling her into a hug as she covered her mouth and leaned against him. She wanted him to get the hell away from her, but she didn't move. If she moved her ribs would hurt her even more._

 _"I know it's not my place, but..." The nurse looked around at Evelyn, lying on the bed. Evidently she didn't trust that the girl was truly asleep, for she gently guided the adults away to talk to them. Evelyn rolled over and looked at the curtain beside her bed. She hadn't been allotted a room of her own, just a stall type thing with curtains around her for privacy. She could hear people beside her, talking about their own medical problems. A little boy, something like four years old, had a broken leg. Somewhere opposite her was an older sounding man, who sounded rather ungrateful for what everyone was doing for him. Another nurse came over and started checking Evelyn's heart rate and blood pressure. She opened her eyes as much as she could and looked at him. He seemed nice enough. He had a rather large nose, nicely roman, and dark hair and eyes. He looked at her and smiled._

 _"Been in the wars, huh? I'd hate to see the other guy." He joked. His voice was rather calming and Evelyn couldn't help but let a small smile escape, but she didn't laugh. Laughing would hurt._

 _"He got off without so much as a scratch on him." She muttered. The nurse frowned slightly in confusion, slightly worried._

 _"Who did this to you?" He asked._

 _"My – "_

 _"Evie!" Her mom pushed past the curtain and sat in the chair beside the bed, looking into Evelyn's almost green eyes (in this light anyway). She gave her daughter a shakey smile and started stroking her hair. Evelyn stopped talking. If her mom was there, then it meant her step-dad wasn't too far away. She lay there silently while her mom crooned to her softly, telling her it was alright. It wasn't alright. The only time it was going to be alright was if her mom left her stupid step-dad. And she doubted that was going to happen any time soon._

* * *

 **Now**

Evelyn stepped forward as Daryl prepared to go with the others to invade the League, putting more fuel into his bike. She watched him for a moment, thinking about how to word what she wanted to say. He looked at her, waiting. After the way she stormed out of the briefing, he thought it best to let her make the first move.

"Don't make me stay here. It makes more tactical sense to have me with you." She said after a while, more calmly than she felt. In all honesty, it felt like everything was resting on this. She knew what the League was like. She didn't want the type of thing they did to happen to Daryl or his friends. Chances were that if she went with him, she could help prevent it. It was the only way she could think of.

"I ain't putting you in a situation where you could get killed."

"No matter where I am, I could get killed. You can't just keep me on the side lines because I'm your daughter, when I am an asset. I know things. Things that could help keep your sorry ass alive."

"It's too dangerous."

"Because it's not like I went several years without anyone else around, is it? You know what? Forget it," She shoved a piece of scrumpled up paper into his hands, "If I were you I'd keep an eye out for this guy. Don't get killed." And then she turned and stalked off, not too impressed with Daryl at all. He watched her for a moment and then flattened out the paper she had given him. It had the sketch of a man on it. Pretty boy. Down the side was a description of his hair colour, his eye colour, even a rough estimate of his height. Daryl looked back where Evelyn had been only moments before, but she was gone. Probably snuck outside the walls again.

"You ready to go?" Rick called out to him. Daryl turned back around and crossed over to him.

"Rambo gave me this." He handed the paper to Rick, who unfolded it and inspected it. He frowned and pointed at the picture.

"This the guy she was telling us about?"

"She didn't say." Daryl shrugged and walked back to his bike, putting his crossbow on the back of it and then turning it on. He was ready to go. Rick motioned for everyone to get moving, the group accompanying him either climbing into the van or a car. Rick crossed over to Daryl.

"Are you sure you want to go without saying goodbye to Evelyn?"

"Couldn't even if I wanted to. She buggered off after giving me that picture."

"Who knows when you'll next see her again." Rick pointed out. Daryl shrugged.

"She made her choice and I made mine. Let's just get this show on the road." Rick nodded.

"OK."

"I'm going with you." Carl said, coming up behind them. Rick shook his head.

"No, you stay here. Keep an eye on Evelyn."

"I want to help!"

"And you can. By finding Evelyn." Rick said.

"Yeah, keep her outta trouble." Daryl added. Carl looked at both of them, obviously wanting to go with them, but understanding what the older people meant. After a moment's pause he nodded.

"OK." Rick placed a hand on Carl's shoulder, then headed to the van and climbed in. Carl watched as they left, standing aside as Daryl went past on his bike. Then he turned around, heading towards the house Daryl had moved into in Alexandria when they first arrived. He doubted Evelyn would be there, but it was as good a place to start as any. Though if she was in Alexandria, then she would have been there to see the others off. Even Enid had been there to see Maggie and Glenn off.

* * *

Evelyn slashed at the tree, trying to work out all her anger. She didn't really know how long she had been at it, just knew that she was still angry. Angry at Daryl, at Rick, at herself. She shoved her machete at the tree and it got stuck in the side of it. She pulled at it, trying to get it out, but for some reason she simply couldn't. Too much anger. Wasn't thinking straight. She turned around and scooped a rock up off the shore of the river, furious, and threw it.

"You alright?" Carl asked, rather tentatively. Evelyn turned around and glared at him.

"What the hell do you think? I'm stuck here! Stuck being useless, put on defence duty when there are people out there, risking their necks for us!" She yelled, wanting to punch something. She turned away from him angrily and picked up another stone and chucked it into the river again. What she really wanted was a good fight, but she couldn't. Not here.

"Dad wouldn't let me go, either."

"Good. It's bad enough I put them all in danger." Evelyn muttered.

"You didn't do anything. They wanted to – "

"Yes, it was me! Bloody hell, Enid was right about me! I'm part of the League! I never fucking left. I'm still part of them, I'm the reason why they're out there. I know what's gonna happen to them when the boss finds them, and he will find them."

"What... what are you talking about?" Carl looked truly confused and Evelyn shook her head, laughing ruefully.

"I'm one of the people that you lot want dead," She looked at Carl, "The information I gave to your dad, to my dad. Sure, it was all true. But I was told to give them that information. They're heading into a trap."

"Why are you saying this now? Why didn't you tell them this when you had the chance? Do you know what you've done?"

"Yes! I do! Why else would I be out here?! I don't want them to be heading there. They're going to their deaths as far as I know and I can't do anything to stop it," She turned and started walking away, "This wasn't supposed to happen. I was never supposed to be stupid enough to become attached to any of you, to make friends. Soon as I found out about Daryl I tried to pull out, I really did, but he forced my hand and now... Now I don't want to lose him and I can't do anything to prevent that from happening." She sat down on the ground, rubbing the back of her neck, fingering the scar there.

"There has to be something that can be done. You know the plan, surely there has to be a way to – "

"Only one way that I can think of it's something that I have to do on my own and afterwards Daryl would be so pissed off at me," She looked back at Carl, "I know you have no reason to and after finding out what I just told you about myself... do you trust me?" She asked. He frowned and adjusted his hat slightly.

"Not as much as I used to, but I don't see that I have much of a choice in this. When do we go?"

"We? No. It's something that will only work if I go on my own. No one from Alexandria. Me. On my own. And I need to leave about ten minutes ago."

"What are you going to do?" Carl asked, rather suspiciously. Evelyn sighed and looked back over the water.

"Something incredibly stupid, I should imagine."

* * *

Rick motioned for everyone to move forward. It had been decided that Abraham and Eugene would move the rock back into position after the rest of them had gone down into the sewers. The patrol had just gone past, and if Evelyn was right, then no one would see what was going on for another half hour or so. Daryl kept his crossbow raised, ready to shoot if necessary. Rick was the first one to jump down into the sewers, followed by Michonne, Glenn, Sacha, Maggie, and last of all Daryl. They decided a smaller group would be better for an infiltration job, though plenty of others had wanted to volunteer. Before jumping into the hole, Abraham clapped a hand on Daryl's shoulder.

"Good luck."

"Same goes for you." Daryl nodded, then proceeding to join the others in the sewers. He looked up as Eugene and Abraham replaced the cover, leaving everyone in the dark of the tunnel, and then the sound of the small boulder being shifted slowly and painfully back onto the cover could be heard. Rick turned on the light on his gun and the rest of the group followed suit, Daryl turning the light on his crossbow on. He had a back up gun, but judging by what Evelyn had said, quiet was probably better than using a gun. So far what Evelyn had said was correct, but who knew how long that would last? Maybe he should have let her come with them... she was right. It would have given them a bit of an advantage. She knew the area better than any of the people here. Everyone in the group started silently making their way through the sewers, keeping their eyes peeled for any signs of walkers. Even though everything was going to plan, Daryl couldn't help but feel like there was something not quite right. It just felt like it was too easy, even if they had looked over things rather thoroughly. He shrugged the feeling off. It was probably just nerves or some shit like that. Everything would go to plan. If not, they'd be able to handle it. It was early days yet.

* * *

They kept creeping through the sewers for a while, and they still hadn't come across a single walker. It didn't sit too well with Daryl, and he doubted it made Rick feel very safe either. By now they should have been nearing the exit, would soon be getting to the hard part. But shouldn't the sewers have had some danger in them, too? Evelyn had said that there might be a few walkers down here. Admittedly she hadn't said there definitely would be walkers, but the way she had said it made it seem like it would be surprising if there weren't any walkers. And there weren't any. Daryl could see light coming down from the surface – the exit – and pushed through the rest of the group to reach Rick.

"There's something not right here." He said, stopping Rick where he was. Rick nodded.

"I know. But what choice do we have? The others covered up the sewer at the other end, only way out is up there."

"This isn't a good idea."

"It's the only idea." Rick said, slinging his gun on his back and climbing up the ladder to remove the cover from the sewer. Daryl shook his head and followed soon after, the others close behind him. When he reached the surface he was greeted by smiling faces, and they weren't nice smiles, made all the less friendly by the guns being pointed at his head.

"Welcome to the League HQ." Someone greeted and Daryl scowled, putting his hands behind his head like Rick and kneeling as they took his weapons from him. The same man who greeted them knelt in front of them and smiled, one that told of false friendship. He shook his head slowly, a toothpick in his mouth.

"I know someone who will be very happy to see you."


	17. Chapter 16

"This is a bad idea!" Carl said as Evelyn got into the driver's seat of the car and put the key in the ignition. She had driven a car only once or twice before this, but she knew the rough basics. She shrugged.

"Never said it was a good idea, but it is, as far as I know, our only choice. Felix was always the tactician," She looked up at Carl, "I'll bring them back in one piece. Hopefully." Carl looked at her and shook his head, Enid not too far behind him. She didn't look too happy about this either, but she had a slightly more lost and confused look in her eyes. Carl took his gun from its holster and looked at it, weighing it in his hands and then stepping forward and holding it out to Evelyn.

"If you won't let me come with you, take it," He pressed it into her hand and stepped back, "Make sure you come back in one piece, too."

"Even after everything that I've done you still want me to be safe? You lot are more nuts than I originally thought." She muttered, turning the key and shutting the car door. She looked back at Carl once more and frowned. As far as she knew, this could be the last time she actually saw him. She didn't want the last thing she saw of him to be a look of regret and worry. She bit the inside of her lip and nodded once, then put her foot down on the accelerator and pulled away, watching the road ahead of her. By now the invading party would have been caught. It was just a matter of time before the boss did something that Evelyn would regret for the rest of her life.

* * *

He paced in front of them, hands behind his back, head held high and a smug smile on his face that Daryl was simply dying to remove. In the background a girl stood to attention, like a soldier awaiting orders. Leaning against the back wall, half in the gloom, stood the man who Evelyn had drawn, playing with a knife. Daryl guessed that he was KC, the man that had trained Evelyn. Who knew what that guy did to her to make her train harder? For some reason, Daryl could only think the worst. The man pacing stopped and turned to face them, his heels clicking together smartly. He was a reasonably good looking guy, probably had many girls falling for him way back when. Green eyes that could fool you into thinking that he was kind, his hair was almost the colour of charred wood, and he looked like he had plenty of time to work out. Daryl hated him already, and not just because this guy was threatening them, but also because of the air of arrogance around him. The man smiled, a sickeningly false smile.

"Well isn't this cosy?" He rumbled in his deep voice. He sounded like he had been given a higher education than the normal person. Daryl pulled against the man holding him back and received a rather harsh hit on the head for his pains. The man laughed, shaking his head in amusement, then frowned slightly.

"Is that any way to treat your host?" He growled. No one said anything, either looking at the man, who seemed to be the boss, or at the floor just in front of them.

"So, I'm sure you're wondering why I brought you all here." The man said, heading over to a chair that was placed in front of the group from Alexandria.

"You didn't bring us here." Rick said. The man shook his head.

"Now, that's where you're wrong," He raised a finger, wagging it at the ceiling, "You see, it was me who influenced you to come here."

"What the hell are you on about?" Daryl growled, pushing himself back upright.

"Let's just say that KC here is a good teacher." The man smiled and motioned to the man in the shadows. KC looked up briefly, then went back to playing with his knife. Daryl felt slightly sick. Was this guy hinting at what he thought? No, that was impossible.

"What can we call you?" Rick asked.

"Well, most people here just call me Boss, but I suppose that since you are my guests, you may call me August," August sat down on his chair and crossed his legs, hands behind his head in the most relaxed position, "You don't need to introduce yourself. You've made a rather large impression as it is, Mr Grimes. And I could never fail to forget a Dixon." He mock saluted to Daryl, who scowled. Rick moved slightly to get more comfortable and the girl behind August pulled out the sword on her back. The sword was similar to Michonne's, only with a red and black handle instead of white. August held up his hand to stop her.

"It's alright, Sara. You can relax." He said. Sara nodded and stepped back, her sand blonde hair shimmering in the almost gloom.

"You said your brought us here. Why? For what reason?"

"You know, you ask a lot of questions," KC said thoughtfully, "Boss might say that you're guests, but in reality you're prisoners. So let him ask the questions." He casually threw his knife in front of Sacha, it's tip sticking in the wooden from mere millimetres from her knees. She flinched away and he smirked nastily.

"You bastard!" Daryl snapped, lunging forward again. He knew Abraham would be reacting worse than this if he had been there, but thankfully he wasn't. KC stepped forwards and grabbed Daryl by his hair, hauling him to his feet.

"Boss, you think this one would be good for the theatre?" He asked lazily. August shrugged.

"Perhaps. But if he goes, then send the little Asian boy too."

"Keep your filthy hands off him!" Maggie snapped when someone stepped forwards to drag Glenn to his feet. August smiled slightly.

"Interesting development." He said. Sara leaned forward and muttered something in his ear, making his smile grow, but he shook his head as she stood back.

"No, Sara. That would be just a bit nasty, even by my standards. KC, put the man back. We have better, more important things to discuss with these lovely people." Daryl watched August closely, not liking the sound of what he just said.

* * *

Evelyn barged in through the front gates, casting them open as though she ruled this place, head held high. A group of men ran towards her, guns raised. She knew that there would be women further in, probably all at practice currently, maybe a few on watch and some on patrols.

"Name, rank, job!" One of the men shouted at her.

"Evelyn Michaels, I'm an initiate of the Assassins and newly entered into the ranks of the boss' middle circle," She said, "I wish to see the boss. It is a matter of extreme urgency. Please inform him that I shall be accompanying him shortly." The men who had surrounded her lowered their weapons, looking at her in shock before one of them ran off to inform the boss of her arrival. Evelyn barged on straight through and headed for her room. A change of clothes was in order. Her grey tank top and sneakers just wouldn't cut it. For some reason her boss was a stickler for fashion and uniform. When she reached her old room she crossed over to the draws and pulled a dark shirt over it, doing up the buttons as she kicked the shoes off and stepped into the knee high boots. Then she resumed her march down the halls to the boss, a man running up to her and guiding her the rest of the way. Her heart was slamming against her chest. She knew that everything that happened in the next few minutes would determine whether her dad and the others survived. Everything was on her right now. If she mucked up... if anything went wrong... she couldn't let that happen.

* * *

August stepped away from Rick, his hand bloodied from bashing Rick's face in. Daryl knew he would do be the next target from the way the larger, more muscular man was looking at him. He stepped towards Daryl with a blood thirsty smile on his face.

"Oi! That's enough!" A voice that Daryl recognised snapped. August froze and turned around, stepping back so Daryl could see Evelyn standing in the doorway. She looked different. Her hair was tied back in a plait, the fabric that had been on her left wrist was gone, she wasn't wearing her headband, and she wore a dark shirt and boots. Her machete was by her side still, and that was about the most recognisable part of her. She had cleaned up quite well. August laughed spitefully.

"You think you can tell me what to do?" He asked, evidently insulted. Daryl frowned. Evelyn was acting as though she knew this guy.

"Considering all I had to go through to get them here, yeah. I'd appreciate it if you didn't bash them all up so their faces are pretty much hideous pulps!" Daryl wasn't sure how he felt. It was like finding out about Merle working with that stupid governor all over again, but it felt worse. He couldn't put it into words. He felt weak, like he couldn't stay kneeling in the same position for that much longer. Evelyn didn't even look at him as she motioned to Rick, who spat blood out on the floor in front of him, getting kicked in the face by August for his pains.

"Hey! What the hell did I just say?!"

"You have no right to tell me what to do! Didn't I order you to stay in that place until I gave the signal?"

"You never told me what the signal was, you fuck wit!" Evelyn stormed forwards and glared up the man who she called boss. KC strolled over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder while Sara drew her sword and pointed it at her back. August shook his head and made tutting noises.

"You need to learn to respect your elders. But I'll let you away with it this time. Just make sure it doesn't happen again," He turned back to Daryl, "Now where were we?" He took a step forward and raised his fist, but Evelyn moved between them.

"Don't you fucking dare touch him."

"Protective over someone who essentially kept you prisoner for how long?" August looked slightly amused. Daryl was just confused, unsure of what was going on. Evelyn was part of the League, but she was stopping August from hurting him? It made no sense. August paused for a moment, then looked up at the ceiling, laughing as he realised what was going on.

"Oh, how did I miss that?" He asked the rest of the room, his arms opened wide, "That is a twist of events I did not see coming."

"Trust me." Evelyn muttered, so quietly that Daryl wasn't sure he'd heard it.

"You found your dare, darling daddy! Man, and I was starting to like you."

"You hate all Dixons just because of what Merle did to you? Way back before this bloody apocalypse started? Man, you hold a massive grudge, don't you?" Evelyn muttered darkly. Daryl looked over at the others, who at were looking at him and Evelyn in confusion. He shrugged, his way to saying he had no clue what was going on.

"You don't know what that son of a bitch did."

"It was your own fault, I'm sure."

"You know what, Evie? I'm starting to wonder where your allegiances lie. With me, or with the man who is, from a biological standpoint, your dad," August stepped forward, ignoring Evelyn's comment, and held his gun out to her, "Prove your allegiances lie with us and we'll welcome you back with open arms, pretend none of this ever happened."

"And how exactly do you want me to prove my allegiance?"

"Kill either the Dixon or Mr Grimes." August said, his voice cold and commanding. Evelyn looked at the gun for a moment, her face expressionless, emotionless, blank. Daryl watched as she shook her head and stepped back.

"No. I'm not going to kill people who have become my friends." She said. Rick looked at her through his one good eye and she looked at him, going slightly pale. Not many people would notice it, but Daryl did. She was scared. She knew that she was getting herself into a dangerous situation here. He didn't say anything. Part of him wanted to kill her himself. The other part wanted to protect her, to save her from this nightmare. But he couldn't do either of these things. She had told him to trust her. He was more certain of it now that he had been when she said it.

"You know what happens if you are labelled a traitor. Think about it carefully, Evie." August said, still holding the gun out to her. Evelyn was starting to breathe more heavily from fear. It had been the same when she had admitted to Daryl that he scared her, that when he was really pissed at her he reminded her of her step-dad before she started being beaten up. The one thing that could make that girl a terrified wreck. She hesitantly took the gun and Daryl felt like the world really was ending, that all the fighting had been for nothing. Slowly Evelyn turned and looked at him, her hands shaking. Every day that Daryl had spent fighting to survive... and now he was going to be killed by Evelyn. Just when he thought he could trust her. Something in her eyes changed and her face became more determined and less scared.

"I'm sorry, Daryl." She said. Daryl looked her in her eyes, the eyes she had inherited from him, and held them. He shook his head.

"No you're not." He spat. The corner of Evelyn's mouth twitched up in a half smile.

"You're right. I'm not." She said.


	18. Chapter 17

Evelyn raised the gun and shot the man holding Daryl, making him look around in confusion. She spun around and shot twice at a couple of people holding others. August was already being ushered out the room by Sara, KC was staying behind, grabbing his knife out of the floor in front of Sacha and wrenching her to her feet, using her as a human shield. Evelyn scowled and looked Sacha in the eye. They didn't know each other very well. About the only thing Sacha knew about Evelyn was that she was part of the League. Or used to be. After this she really would be labelled as a traitor. The punishment for which was being turned into a walker, generally speaking. Turned into a walker, or slowly and painfully killed by torture. Depended on which the traitor feared more.

"What was the first thing I taught you, Evelyn?" KC sneered. Evelyn shrugged.

"Don't hesitate to kill. I'm not hesitating. I'm waiting for you to show your weakness."

"That is the same thing. And you have already shown your weakness."

"Yeah, I know. I care too much. Sorry Sacha." Evelyn looked the woman in the eye and nodded once. Sacha looked terrified, probably thought Evelyn was about to shoot her. Which, if this went wrong, she was. Evelyn fired, hitting KC in the neck, just past Sacha's head. The woman fell forward and Evelyn handed her the gun, pulling out her machete and deftly cutting the ties of all the prisoners. She knelt in front of Rick and Sacha went along and started untying Glenn and Maggie, who jumped up and gave her husband a hug. Such a sweet reunion. Pitty Evelyn knew her reunion with Daryl wouldn't be so lovely and cute.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't want this to happen." She mumbled, stepping back as Michonne helped Rick to his feet. He didn't say anything, quite possibly too out of it to register what she had said. Evelyn knew what that was like. Then she turned to Daryl, not saying anything as she cut the wire ties around his wrists.

"What the fuck was that?" He raged.

"You think that now is seriously the best time for this conversation?" Evelyn countered, pulling Carl's gun out from under her tank top at the back and handing it to him, "Get them out of here." She said, heading out the door.

"Where the hell are you going?"

"I have a couple of things I have to do."

"Like getting your ass outta here?" Daryl towered over her, glaring down.

"No. It's my fault you're here in the first place, so you lot should get out of here. Now. I have a conversation to continue."

"You're gonna get yourself killed!"

"Too fucking bad! I'm past caring at the moment." And then Evelyn left, heading down the hall, on the warpath. The group would be fine. Probably.

* * *

"Why the hell did she just leave us?" Glenn asked as they headed down the hall. He and Michonne were helping Rick along, Maggie had managed to get herself a knife from one of the people Evelyn had killed. Unfortunately, Evelyn hadn't managed to kill KC. He had gotten up and escaped soon after Evelyn had left, apparently Evelyn had been aiming to miss Sacha. It was getting harder and harder for Daryl to understand the girl. Whose side was she on? Originally it had seemed like she was on her own side, then their side, when apparently she was on the side of the League, and now it was as though she was on their side again. Couldn't she just make up her mind? Glenn had asked a very good question. One that Daryl wasn't sure he could answer. Wasn't sure he wanted to answer.

"She went to get revenge," Michonne supplied, "It's what I'd do."

"Well, Evelyn doesn't seem like she has the restraint to act like you." Maggie grumbled, then looked at Daryl. He didn't seem to care. Maggie had only said what he was thinking, though it was hard to admit it, even to himself. This was seeming more and more like Merle all over again.

"I think the more important thing to focus on right now is how to get out of here." Sacha said. She was still slightly rattled from Evelyn almost shooting her. That made two of them, though Daryl wasn't about to show it.

"The same way we got in here, we should be able to get out through there." Glenn said. Daryl shook his head.

"Doubt Rick could get down the ladder easy, let alone up the one at the other end."

"Then where do you suggest we get out?" Maggie challenged.

"Feeling lucky?" Daryl asked. Rick looked at him as though he were crazy.

"You think we could actually make it through them?"

"I think it's our best shot." Daryl looked at Rick, who looked like he was about to pass out at any moment. He needed help, and soon. Daryl wasn't about to let the guy die. They needed more weapons if this was gonna work.

"This is a bad idea." Michonne said.

"You got a better one?" No one answered and Daryl nodded, "Thought as much."

"You aren't going anywhere." A now (sadly) familiar voice said. Daryl turned, holding his gun up at the right height, aiming it at August's head, finding he was doing the same thing. He smiled darkly at Daryl and stepped forwards. Daryl didn't move from his spot, just shook his head.

"I wouldn't come any closer if I were you."

"What is it about you Dixons and always trying to tell everyone want to do? It's so annoying."

"For such a big guy, you really act like a child." Daryl glared at August, whose eyes narrowed in response.

"You act so much like a Dixon, and you deserve to die like a dog," He paused for dramatic effect, "Evelyn failed to kill one of you two. I suppose I'll have to do it myself." Daryl expected the gun to stay pinned on him, but it didn't. Slowly it moved across and ended up pointed at Rick. August smiled, and then pulled the trigger.

* * *

Felix struggled to stand up when he heard the gun shot ring out, clear as crystal in the gloom of his cell. He was pretty badly beaten up, blood on his face, cuts on his arms and legs. He lay his hand on the wall to keep his balance and watched as the door was opened, cringing as pain shot up from his broken fingers.

"Felix?" He just about fell to the ground in relief.

"Evelyn!" He said, finding it hard to believe that she was there. She crossed the room and moved his arm over her shoulder so she could support him as he walked.

"What the hell happened to you? What were you doing in there?" She asked when they were out in the light and she was checking his wounds. He laughed.

"I got labelled a traitor. Told your buddy Carl that the League were planning on attacking. Somehow they found out and well, you see what happened."

"You're an idiot."

"Says the one who used to call me Toad."

"You don't deserve to be a frog. They're too cool for you." Evelyn taunted, smiling slightly. Felix snorted and stood up, holding his stump out to Evelyn. She looked at it for a moment, then placed her hand on it and looked him in the eye.

"I'm gonna get you out of here. You and the others."

"Others? You don't mean that you went through with the plan?"

"Yeah, I did. Then regretted it and that's why I'm here. Man, you're lucky I found you." She smiled and gave him a hug, which caught him off guard. Evelyn wasn't the type of person who went for hugs. Hesitantly he returned the hug. She hadn't wanted a hug from him since she was something like ten years old and he was still giving her drawing lessons.

"You're suicidal." He laughed. She stepped back, shaking her head but still smiling.

"Only you would laugh at something like that. Come on. We need to find KC, Sara, and the boss. I owe them a machete to the face."

"Revenge will get you no where."

"No, but it'll make me feel good." Evelyn said, starting to head off. Felix smiled, following her, and then gasped as something went straight through him, coming out through his gut. He looked down at the sword with wide eyes, knowing what it meant. Evelyn turned around and looked at him, her face taking on a look of horror.

"Felix!" She rushed forward as he fell to the ground, clutching where the exit wound was, blood pouring out onto his hand. Evelyn knelt next to him shaking her head. He knew she would blame herself. It had been her who told him that the League were planning on attacking. She would be thinking that if she hadn't told him, he would still be fine. He would never have gone through all this. She looked up past him at his killer. Sara. Felix looked at the young woman who he once loved. Her blue eyes were colder than ice, a hint of the thirst for blood she had held within them. Evelyn stood up and knocked the sword out of her way, grabbing the hilt of it with her left hand and her machete falling down on Sara's head with the other. Felix watched as she fell to the ground, her eyes still reflecting that last moment of shock. By now he was having trouble breathing.

"You're OK." Evelyn whispered, kneeling next to him again. He smiled shakily and swallowed, then shook his head.

"You don't have to act brave for me, Evie. You never did."

"No, I always did." She whispered, but Felix didn't hear her. His cheerful eyes were now empty, his chest not moving with his breathing. Evelyn felt a tear escaping out onto her cheek. She shook herself and stood up. She couldn't leave him like this. She shifted the weight of her machete in her hand and then swung it down into Felix's head.

"Goodbye, old friend." She whispered. She then turned and looked at Sara's body, bending down and picking up the sword. It wasn't her's. It was Michonne's, so it was going to be returned to its rightful owner.

* * *

 ** _Two years before the outbreak_**

 _"You were telling me how you got injured?" The nice nurse said when her mom and step-dad weren't around. Evelyn looked at him from her place sitting on her bed and shrugged._

 _"I wouldn't want to get you into trouble." She said. She was acting a lot more lively, even if she wasn't feeling 100% yet. The nurse shook his head._

 _"You won't be."_

 _"Well... It was my step-dad. But if he finds out I told anyone then it'll be even worse for me and my mom. Please don't tell anyone." She reached out and grabbed the nurse's hand, looking into his kind eyes beseechingly. He frowned, obviously not happy about the situation._

 _"Tell you what. I'll make you a promise if you'll make me a promise."_

 _"Yeah? I'm listening."_

 _"If this happens again, you will tell someone about it. You promise me that and I promise I won't tell anyone."_

 _"Deal." In truth she had no intention of keeping the deal. She had made a deal with herself. She wouldn't be helpless anymore. She wasn't just going to lie there and take it anymore. And she wasn't going to let her mom be beaten up anymore. Even if it meant that Evelyn was going to get more hurt, she wasn't going to let her mom get hurt. Not again._


	19. Chapter 18

**Now**

Daryl shot August in the head and looked around at Rick. Now the guy was definitely too injured to get down a ladder, and completely unable to get back up one. Hell, he was too injured to even walk, and he was losing blood quick. Michonne was a wreck, trying to stop the bleeding but failing miserably. Daryl pushed her aside and tore a scrap of fabric off his shirt, pressing it against the bullet wound in Rick's chest. It hadn't hit his heart, but it would probably be a miracle if he managed to survive. He handed the gun to Glenn and lifted Rick up over his shoulder. The guy was heavy, but it was the best way of transporting him at this moment in time. They had to get out, now, and get help for Rick if he was going to survive. And God knew, Daryl wasn't going to lose anyone today. Not after what Evelyn did.

* * *

Evelyn entered the armoury, grabbing a couple of guns and their holsters, attaching them. Then she spotted Daryl's crossbow. She grabbed that and flung it over her shoulder, along with a quiver of arrows that would fit in it. Though technically speaking weren't they bolts, if they were for a crossbow?

"Now is not the time to be a smart ass with yourself, Rambo." She hissed to herself, instantly regretting calling herself Rambo. It had been Daryl who gave her that nickname, and she seriously hadn't lived up to it. She sighed and stopped rummaging through the weapons available, looking at her hands, the blood on them and up her arms. Probably on her face too. She shook her head. What was she doing? Everyone could cope without her. She scowled and grabbed another knife, slipping it into a sheath on her wrist. She had told Enid off for feeling sorry for herself. She should learn to practice what she preached. Evelyn left the room, holding one of the guns out before her. She knew who she was looking for. Not her boss. She knew he had gone another way to KC and Sara. She had dealt with Sara. Now all that was left was KC. As soon as she found him she would throw him off a roof. Stab him in the back. Slit his throat. Rip his fingernails out one by one. Put him on a stake and leave him for the crows. She looked around every corner, in every room, her thirst for blood driving her on. She dodged as a knife flew past her ear, spinning around and facing KC.

"You could never beat me before, Evelyn. What makes you think you can beat me now?"

"I grew up."

"No. You are still that weak, pathetic child that walked in through my door that first day. You haven't changed a bit."

"I've changed more than you realise." Evelyn pulled the trigger, hitting the wall as KC ducked around the corner to dodge her bullets. She gave chase, following him further up through the building, their footsteps echoing through the empty corridors. Most of those in the League would have been outside on patrol or in their rooms, but it was still strange that there was no one there. She had no idea how long she had been chasing her old teacher for, but her lungs where starting to hurt and she knew where KC was leading her. The roof. He always had a sense for the dramatic. She kicked the door to the roof open, pointing the gun in front of her. She scoped the area out, trying to find her teacher, but he knew the area well. She wanted to find him, she'd have to look. Considering that she was weighed down by her friends' weapons, he would have had plenty of time to find a good place to hide. The sound of a gun being cocked made her spin around, firing a shot. KC ducked, grinning, and fired his own gun, missing. He laughed as Evelyn danced back, still pointing her gun at his head. He shook his head and threw his gun away.

"Let's make this more interesting, shall we?" He asked. Evelyn didn't move, not showing any expression on her face. She hated this guy, wanted to kill him, so why didn't she just pull the trigger? She didn't understand it. She had killed people before. Never got the taste for it, but this wasn't a pleasure killing. She knew what this ass hole was like. Knew that he was the one who set up the arena, knew that he wouldn't have hesitated to kill her. So why had he aimed to miss? If he had wanted to, he would have shot her in the head and things would have been better for him, easier. But no. He wanted to make things more... interesting.

"I'd rather not." She said, pulling the trigger just as he darted forward and grabbed her hand, wrestling the gun off her, then pushing her over. He stepped backwards.

"Not even a challenge! What did I waste my time on?" He asked, then kicked her in the gut, making her curl in on herself, coughing. She struggled to her feet when KC's back was turned and took a swing at him, which he easily sidestepped and pushed her forward. The added weight of the weapons on her back made her fall more heavily. He grabbed the crossbow and hauled it off her back, drawing the sword and casting them both aside, out of the way so Evelyn couldn't reach them. She stumbled backwards, trying to get away from the edge, and pulled a knife from its sheath. KC lunged forward and tried to grab her, but Evelyn darted out of the way and slashed at him, missing, but making him stay away. He nodded.

"Next time, make sure your feet don't drag." Just like he used to say things. The way that said he knew everything, said that he was the boss. One that almost installed fear into the listener. Evelyn adjusted the grip on her knife and took a half step forward. Next thing she knew she was slammed up against the door she had just come out, the knife being teared from her fist. KC shook his head and punched her in the gut.

"Always. Keep. Your. Eye. On. Your. Opponent." He said, punching her in the gut with every word. When he was done he grabbed her by her neck and pushed her back past him, leaving her sprawling on the ground. She coughed, then spat blood out onto the concrete, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. KC stepped forward and grabbed her hair, throwing her closer to the edge, then placed his knee in the small of her back, preventing her from moving. Evelyn struggled, of course, she hated feeling helpless, but it did no good. KC looked at her bandaged arm, a thoughtful look on his face.

"What have you done to yourself?" He asked in a slow, steady voice.

"Get off me, you fucking bastard!"

"Ooooh, clean out that mouth of yours!" KC taunted, then carefully removed the bandage from her arm, revealing the cut and its stitches. He smiled and took up Evelyn's knife. She struggled, trying to get her other arm around to hit him, to try and get him off her. She knew what he was going to do. Knew how this sick minded bastard worked. She yelled out as he pinned her arm down, twisted around to reveal her cut to the world, then shoved the knife in it, pulling it down along the old line and cutting all the stitches. The wound had just about been fully healed, too, and now she would be starting from square one. If she got out of this. She felt the blood pouring out down the sides of her arm, felt the pain as he shoved the knife further into her flesh. She mustered what little strength she had left and pushed herself up with her left had, rolling over and kicking KC backwards. He stumbled and fell, right next to the wall. Evelyn stood up and crossed over to him, hauling him up off the ground and holding him over the edge of the wall by his shirt. She looked at him, watching him. He looked down fearfully, knowing that if she let go, he would fall to his death. Evelyn looked down past him.

"Even if you survived the fall, you wouldn't survive the walker pit." She said, her tone completely flat and emotionless. He looked around at her.

"Don't you dare let me go, don't you fucking dare." He said. She was holding him up with her left hand. Her weak hand. She pushed him down slightly, making him grab at her arm, trying to get a hold of things, trying to hold onto his life. Evelyn could feel blood trickling down the side of her face from when she was thrown against the concrete, could feel her blood trickling down her arm. She let go, watching as KC fell, arms flailing in the air, a scream escaping his lips. She just stood there, watching.

"Oops. You slipped." She said, coldly. She stepped away and collected Michonne's sword and Daryl's crossbow, then headed back down the stairs. She had to find the others.

* * *

"What the hell?" They watched as KC fell from the roof. Daryl looked up, but couldn't see what had happened, couldn't see how he had fallen. Not that it mattered. KC was giving them the chance they needed to get out of there. The others paused and looked at him, waiting for his instructions.

"What the hell are you waiting for? Get moving!" He said, pushing the gates to the walker pen open and letting the others through, Glenn, Michonne and Rick in the middle of the group. Daryl went through last, contemplating only for a second shutting the gate behind him, but he didn't. If Evelyn was still in there, she'd make her own way out. She had before. If she was even still alive. The walkers were all so busy devouring KC's body that they didn't notice the group escaping until the men on the gate outside started shooting at them. Daryl and Sacha returned fire and soon they fell off the wall, meaning that they could escape. Rick was losing a lot of blood. He needed help, and soon. They ran as fast as they could, considering that Rick was in no condition to go very far. Abraham and Eugene spotted them when they got closer and ran to meet them, spotting Rick being dragged along by Glenn and Michonne.

"What happened?" Eugene asked as Abraham took over from Michonne.

"Things turned bad. He got shot." Daryl explained. Sacha shook her head.

"He needs help, and soon, or he won't make it."

"He isn't in any condition to make it back to Alexandria." Eugene said, shaking his head. Michonne looked completely unimpressed and shook her head, not wanting to believe it. She wanted to believe that Rick was going to make it. So did Daryl, but he shook his head anyway. He knew the reality of the situation.

"We need to get him somewhere so we can look at him."

"He got shot! None of us know what we're doing, what good would looking at the wound do?"

"I think... I think I know someone who could help." A small voice said. Daryl, Sacha, and Eugene all pointed their guns at the person who spoke. Daryl shook his head when he saw it was Evelyn. He didn't recognise the man with her.

"What the hell are you doing here? You think you can do that and then just show your face around here, act as though nothing happened?" Daryl yelled as he lowered his weapon. Evelyn didn't look at him, didn't move. She looked ashamed. Daryl didn't know how to feel. He was glad she was OK, but at the same time he really wished she wasn't there. She was really putting him in a position he wasn't happy with.

"Do you really want to do this now? Rick's life is on the line." She whispered. Daryl glared at her and moved to take a step forward, but Michonne put a hand up and stopped him.

"She has a point." She said. Daryl turned his glare on Michonne, knowing she was right. He nodded to Evelyn and she pointed to her companion.

"He was a doctor before all this. Well," She looked at him, some guy with a rather large nose, "A nurse."

"I was training to be a doctor when the outbreak happened." The man finally spoke up.

"You think you can save him?" Michonne asked, hope in her voice.

"I won't know until I have a look at him," The man pointed to Rick, "May I?"

"I know a place reasonably close by. It should still be safe. You can have a better look at him there," Evelyn said, holding Daryl's crossbow out to him without looking at him, "Come on. We don't have much time."

* * *

Evelyn kicked the door of the abandoned house in, standing back to let Abraham and Glenn enter, still carrying Rick. She felt sick. This was her fault, and she couldn't do shit to help him. If he died, how the hell would she be able to face anyone? She watched as Daryl cleared a table for them to put Rick down on and her old friend the nurse removed his shirt, checking the wound, unable to see an exit hole.

"He's gonna need more blood to keep him alive," He said, "But I don't have any of the equipment, and I don't know what blood type he is."

"It the doesn't matter." Everyone looked at Evelyn, frowning, looking at her as though she was crazy.

"What the fuck do you mean?" Daryl asked, furious. Evelyn flinched away from him, then looked him in the eye.

"What blood type he is. It doesn't matter. I'm O negative. Universal donor. As for the equipment... If I'm right then this place might have some in the basement. Don't ask me why, coz I don't know." Michonne moved to go down to the basement, Eugene and the nurse going with her. Sacha stayed with Rick, applying pressure to the wound. Daryl didn't move and neither did Evelyn. There was still blood pouring from her own wound on her arm, and she couldn't get the image of KC falling to his death from her mind.

"You alright?" Daryl asked her eventually. She nodded.

"I'm fine."

"Well, you don't look it. How do you think you could give blood when you look like you've lost so much of your own?"

"I said I'm fine," Evelyn glared at Daryl, "You just worry about your own people and I'll worry about myself. Leave the talking for later." She pushed past him and pulled up a chair for her to sit in, pulling up the sleeve on her left arm. She heard Daryl leave the house, probably going out to keep watch. He was like her, hated sitting around on his ass doing nothing. She shook her head and looked at Rick on the table, how messed up his face was, how pale he looked. She was the one who had put him there. She had to help him. For once she was thankful for all the times she had been beaten up as a kid. Only reason she knew what blood type she was, was because of the transfusion she had needed after she got beaten up real bad one time when she was eight. Supposedly she had been attacked by rabid dogs or some shit like that. She looked at Sacha.

"I'm sorry I almost shot you." She said. Sacha shook her head.

"You did what you had to do, and you didn't shoot me. You shot the bastard using me as a human shield."

"It didn't stop Rick from getting hurt."

"That wasn't your fault. You helped us out of there."

"If I hadn't got you in there in the first place Rick wouldn't be on death's door right now."

"Hey, it's not your fault. You didn't pull the trigger. August did."

"Because I couldn't kill him when I had the chance," Evelyn shook her head as the others came back from the basement with stuff for the transfusions, "Let's just get this over with." She said as the nurse came over and presented a needle, taking it out of its packet. He set up the gear and then started searching Evelyn's arm for a suitable vein.

"You aren't going to try and stop her? Look at her arm." Michonne said. Evelyn's eyes darted to her.

"I'm fine. No matter what, I am doing this. You can't stop me." She said. The nurse looked around at Michonne and smiled in a reassuring way.

"This girl here has been through hell, has lost a lot of blood in her time, has had so many different injuries that her file was almost bursting. And yet I could never convince her to tell the police about what was going on. Once she has her mind set on something, she pulls through with it."

"Thanks for telling them that." Evelyn sighed, looking at the needle in her arm. The nurse looked at her.

"They didn't know?"

"Doesn't matter coz they know now, or at least will have their suspicions."

"Sorry."

"Prove it by saving his life."

"I'll do my best but... no promises."

"Just do it." Evelyn shook her head and leaned back in her seat, looking at Rick as the nurse set about saving his life. Next to her, Eugene was going about cleaning her wounded arm up... again. Michonne was guided out by Glenn to keep watch with Daryl, try to keep her mind off things. Maggie stayed with the nurse, who Evelyn was only just now realising she didn't know the name of. She had known him how long and never once asked his name or, back in the hospital, bothered to read his name tag? Wasn't she clever. Sacha offered to stay, but was politely declined and so she went and joined the others outside. There was nothing she could do to help in there, so she may as well try and help to keep Michonne's mind off what was going on. Abraham was standing in the doorway, watching every move Evelyn and the nurse made.

"Ow." Evelyn looked at the stitches Eugene was putting in her arm – again – then closed her eyes and leaned her head back. In all truth, Rick wasn't the only one who had lost a lot of blood, but he was in worse shape than her. And if she was going to die, she wanted to die for something that was important to her, not just being eaten by an undead freak or something like that. Not that she wanted to die. But she didn't want Rick to die either. She had told Carl that she would get them all home in one piece if she could. Well, she was determined to live up to that. She couldn't let his dad die.

"Come on Rick... you're a tough son of a bitch. You can pull through this."

* * *

 **Author's Note: In reply to a question, no, I didn't name this Dixon Daughter after Dixon Daughter Almost There or Dixon Daughter Too Far Gone, but they sound interesting :) In my case I was just struggling to come up with a name, and Dixon Daughter sounded like it'd be alright. Now I just have to come up with a name for the sequel :/ Anyone got any ideas? Thanks for the question, and happy reading.**


	20. Chapter 19

Evelyn was helped to her feet by Abraham, but she pushed him away as soon as she was standing up. She hated feeling helpless. She'd manage on her own. She placed a hand on the wall to support herself and headed outside so she could get some fresh air. By now only Daryl was on the veranda, Glenn and Maggie were down by some trees and Michonne was looking around for something they could use to transport Rick back to Alexandria in. A car would be perfect, if they could find one with fuel in it. There was a car in the driveway, but it had no fuel. Evelyn knew that because she had been the one to drain it of fuel when she was on a scouting mission with Felix a couple of years ago when she had first joined the League. She leaned on the rails surrounding the veranda. Felix. She couldn't save him, so she put a machete in his head. Talk about short comings. That day wasn't the best for her, it would seem.

"Is now a better time for that talk?" Daryl asked. Evelyn looked at him and sighed.

"Sure. Not like it's gonna make things worse. Rick looks like he's gonna pull through. At this stage I don't need to give more blood. Only if things take a turn for the worse. So, sure. Let's play twenty questions." The sarcasm was dripping from her voice in the last sentence and Daryl shook his head.

"Why did you do it? Why did you set us up?"

"Because that was my job. We each have a job to do, and that was mine."

"Why the hell would you set us up and then risk your ass to save us?"

"That is a little more... complicated."

"It's not like we can go anywhere. You have time to explain and I ain't going anywhere." Daryl crossed his arms and Evelyn sighed, rubbing her hand over the scar on her neck, looking at her freshly bandaged arm.

"Things went wrong. I was never meant to form relationships with anyone. That's why I was chosen for the job. I never got attached to anyone because Mom walked out on me and pretty much everyone in the first group I was in got killed, until it was just me, Sara, and Felix, so I was too much of a wimp to form relationships with anyone else. Hell, now it's just me." She rested her head on her arms and watched as her friend the nurse walked over to talk to Michonne. Daryl growled.

"So you go through all that effort to get us there and then you go along and risk yourself to get us out again? How dumb can you get?"

"Hey, if it wasn't for me, you would probably be getting your insides turned into your outsides as we speak." Evelyn snapped, standing upright too fast and almost falling over. Daryl stepped forward to help her, but she held up her hand to stop him, her eyes narrowing. She shook her head.

"I don't expect you to understand. I'm a traitor. I put you all at risk. That makes me a traitor to Alexandria. I gave you lot the help you needed to get out, I killed my former teacher and one of the people who I used to trust most in the world. I'm a traitor to the League. You say I'm stupid? Ha! You don't know the half of it, but I can honestly tell you that I didn't do it for the thrills."

"You risk your neck – "

"What are you really angry about, Daryl?! That I risked my life to get you out, or that I was the reason you were put in that position in the first place? That I'm the reason Rick is in there, fighting for his life? Come find me when you know the answer." Evelyn stalked back inside and slumped onto the couch. Eugene and Sacha were looking at her. Evidently they had heard the argument. It would have been surprising if they hadn't, really. They shared a look, but didn't say anything. Smart move.

* * *

Daryl had headed off soon after his fight with Evelyn to get the van and his bike, taking Abraham with him. As soon as they returned, they moved Rick into the van and then started preparing to head off. He looked up at Evelyn, who was sitting in a chair on the veranda, talking to the guy with the big nose. He still wasn't too sure which he was more annoyed about. The fact that she had put everyone in danger, or that she had put herself in danger and ended up getting hurt for it. Either way, he wasn't going to leave her behind. She was, after all, his daughter.

"Oi! Rambo! Get your ass inside the van!" He called out. She looked at him, her face expressionless, and hesitantly stood up, the nurse taking her arm to help her along. Daryl watched closely. He didn't know this guy and wasn't sure if he could trust him around Evelyn. Not that she couldn't look after herself. How had she managed to get out through the walkers? Another question to add to the list, which seemed to be increasing in size. Evelyn didn't look at him as she and the nurse got inside, the nurse stopping for a second.

"You don't mind, do you? I haven't got anywhere else to go."

"Just don't do anything that'll get us in trouble." Daryl grunted, then got on his bike as everyone prepared to leave. Evelyn was watching him from her spot in the van, looking like she was thinking quite hard. He looked away, pretending not to have noticed. Their relationship had been strained before hand, how was it going to work out now? Not very well, he guessed. Would she even be able to stay with the group? Did he want her to? It was weird. He did want her to. She came back for them. Didn't that say something about where her allegiances lay? She was his kid, and right now she needed looking after, what with her having lost so much blood and her arm being stitched and bandaged. He looked back at her, but she was looking away now, rubbing the back of her neck the way she did when she wasn't too comfortable with a situation. He saw the nurse talk to her, and her answer back. Daryl wondered what they were talking about.

"Daryl!" Glenn called from the front seat of the van, "Ready to go?" Daryl nodded and turned his bike on, then pulled out and they started driving home on what was going to be a thankfully uneventful trip.

* * *

Evelyn went straight into the house she had been sharing with Daryl and grabbed her pack. She had made up her mind, and there was nothing that was going to stop her. She had put everyone at risk, she was a liability. While everyone was checking on Rick, she would take the opportunity and go. It was the best thing she could do. She froze when she heard footsteps in the main room. Daryl was back? Why? Shouldn't he be checking on Rick? She hastily shoved her partially packed bag under her bed and sat down, pulling her shoes off. Daryl knocked hesitantly on the door and Evelyn couldn't help but frown.

"What?"

"Came to check you were alright." He said, leaning against her doorframe. Evelyn threw her shoe away lazily, grimacing as she struggled to pull the other shoe off. It hurt her arm, hurt to move the fingers on that hand.

"I'm fine." She said. Daryl shook his head and walked over, pulling her shoe off without much trouble. Evelyn scowled. She hated feeling helpless.

"Mind if I sit?"

"Do what you want. It's your house." She flung her legs around onto the bed and put her left hand behind her head, her right arm resting over her chest. It hurt, a dull throbbing pain with the occasional twinge.

"I'm not mad at you." Daryl said after a moment's silence. Evelyn snorted.

"Yeah, sure. Disappointment is so much better."

"I'm not disappointed either. I don't even know how I feel about this. What are you supposed to think when your own kid turned you in to get killed?"

"The plan was in place long before I knew you. I tried to walk away when I found out that you were here. It's not my fault you took my machete." Evelyn muttered, inspecting the bandage on her arm. It'd need redoing soon.

"Don't try to pin the blame on me, not this time." Daryl scowled. Evelyn sighed and looked at him, a grim look on her face. She was sick of all the questions, just wanted him to go away. She was tired, she had things to pack, she wanted to ditch the stupid shirt but it was the warmest thing she had. Daryl looked back at Evelyn. She knew he was going to ask more questions. Who knew what else she could be hiding? He had to make sure the settlement was safe. She only wished he had an alternative motive, but doubted it. Why would he still care about her after what she did?

"When you went out to get a break from everyone –"

"I was actually going out to bring Enid back. If you're going to ask me about who it was on the road, he was my step brother. Probably dead now, and good riddance."

"He ever hurt you?"

"Why the hell would you be worrying about that? You have bigger problems to deal with than my past. You don't know me, I don't know you. It's probably better off that way," She looked at Daryl and sighed, shaking her head, "No. He never hurt me. Just never seemed to believe what his dad did to me and Mom when he was gone." Daryl didn't respond. Evelyn looked at her hand, wanting to break the silence but being too afraid to. She had probably hurt him, but that was good, wasn't it? It would make leaving easier, wouldn't it? Daryl clapped her shoulder and stood up as she looked at him in surprise.

"Thanks for getting us out of that mess, even if it was your fault we were in it in the first place."

"Ah... Thanks? I think?" Evelyn gave him a small smile and he headed out. When he was gone, the smile slipped from her face and a look of grim determination replaced it. She'd leave tonight after he'd gone to bed, probably the best time. No goodbyes. Just leave. Sure, chances were that people would worry about her, wonder where she had gone, maybe even go out and look for her, but... it was better that way. She reached under her pillow and took out her mom's old journal. She had never read past the first page. Now was as good a time as any.

* * *

A meeting had been called in the church to discuss their position. Chances were that the League had managed to survive the walker escape and were probably plotting their revenge. They just seemed like that kind of group, even without their main three leaders. It seemed strange, not having Rick around to lead the meeting. Instead it was Glenn who stepped up, simply because she had been there and Daryl didn't want to, so he was the next best candidate. Carl looked around the room for Evelyn. He hadn't seen her since she had gotten back and the first thing he had noticed about her was that her shirt was covered in blood and her face looked like she had been in the wars. He hadn't thanked her yet for actually going out there and saving his dad and the others. Enid sat beside him.

"I don't get why you want to see her so badly. She's a traitor, she's why your dad is in the condition he's in." She muttered.

"She's also the reason he's still alive." He replied. He knew about how she was the one who had giving blood so Rick could survive, also knew that without her the group never would have gotten out. So he kept looking. Daryl came in, but he was on his own. Carl frowned and got up, pushing past Enid to get out of the pew he was in.

"Where are you going?"

"To talk to Daryl. Stay here, this shouldn't take too long." Enid pulled a face, not too happy about being told to wait behind, but stayed where she was sitting as Carl walked up to Daryl.

"Where's Evelyn?" That made Daryl frown.

"I thought she was with you?"

"I haven't seen her since you got back yesterday." By now Carl was beginning to suspect the worst. Would she have just packed up and left? Quite possibly, after what she did. She was blaming herself. Maybe she didn't trust herself around other people anymore? Daryl looked back out the church and started moving out when Glenn started talking.

"They was a Problem with the info that we were given about the League. Things went wrong, and now Rick is recovering from a gunshot wound just below his ribs. He'll pull through, and as soon as he is well enough to travel, we need to be ready to move." He said. People in the audience started talking, questioning. Why should they move? They were safe in Alexandria. It was the safest place they had been since the outbreak started. Enid looked around at Carl and he frowned.

"Daryl –"

"We need to leave because if we don't we'll probably be slaughtered. The League isn't the kind of group to let anyone go. They'll want to kill us." Daryl yelled over the murmurings of the crowd. Everyone turned to look at him and he looked back over them. Carl knew he hated being looked at as a leader figure, but he was pretty good at it.

"You lot need to be ready to go, before the League manage to regroup and attack us."

"You? Daryl, you're coming with us." Someone in the audience said. Daryl looked at the woman who had spoken.

"I ain't going anywhere without Evelyn, and she ain't here right now."

"She's gone? Good riddance." Another member of the crowd – a man – called out. Daryl turned his glare on the man and Carl thought for a moment.

"I think I might know where she is." He said. Daryl looked at him.

"Let me get my stuff and let's go."

"No. I think this is probably better done without you." Carl said and left the church, Enid pushing her way past the people in her row and running to catch up with him.

"Carl! Wait!"

"Not this time, Enid."

"If you're going outside the walls you need backup."

"I won't be alone. If I'm right about where Evelyn is, then I'll be perfectly safe. Besides, I'll have my gun."

"But –"

"I don't think that Evelyn would be too keen to see you. She wasn't too impressed about what you said about her being a part of the League."

"But I was right about that."

"She didn't like being with the League. Look, Enid, if I'm not letting Daryl come, I'm not letting you come." Carl stopped walking and turned to look at Enid. He wanted to make sure she was safe. She looked at him then stepped forward and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Come back safe." She said. Carl nodded and then continued on his way to find Evelyn, his thoughts all muddled. Had that been the first move? Was something actually going to happen between him and Enid? Did he actually want it to? His thoughts returned to Evelyn and he quickened his step. Who knew what time she had left, if she would still be where he thought she would be. He had to hurry.

* * *

"I thought you might be here." Evelyn looked over her shoulder at Carl, who was just coming towards her. She sighed and looked back into the safety cache, pulling out some dried fruit that someone had found and shoving it in her pack. She didn't have a lot of food, but she could always hunt. She grabbed a gun and a holster that someone had been kind enough to supply, attaching it around her waist.

"I'm not going back, Carl." She said, not looking at him.

"Why not?"

"I don't belong there. Besides, do you really think that Rick would let me back after I set them up? Provided the opportunity to get him shot?"

"You saved his life. Michonne said that it was your blood used in the transfer, the one that kept him alive."

"He wouldn't have needed it if I had given them a better plan, if I had actually given them the chance to actually win." She turned and looked at him, her hair once again loose around her shoulders and her headband returned to its rightful place, the strip of blue fabric around her wrist once more. She knew Carl was thinking about what she had said. Did he also doubt that Rick would let her return? Not that it mattered. She wasn't going back. There was no chance.

"What about Daryl? Maggie? Glenn?"

"Daryl doesn't care about me, and completely understandable. And I was never that close with Glenn or Maggie. Only people I really talked to were you, Enid, and Daryl."

"So now you're not calling him 'dad'?"

"Why should I? It's not like I'm going to see him again, and being related to him is downright dangerous apparently. Well, no. Being related to Merle is dangerous," Evelyn muttered, "Look, I'm not going back. I've made up my mind, and you can't change it." She flung her bag on her back and grimaced. She'd used the wrong arm. She went to cover the safety cache over again when Carl stepped forward and did it for her. She stepped back and looked away. Why was everyone trying to help her? First Daryl with removing her shoe for her, now Carl with covering up the cache. She sighed.

"If you're leaving, then I'm going with you." Carl said. Evelyn turned and glared at him.

"Don't be such a pig headed, petty minded half wit! There are people who need you more than I do back in Alexandria."

"Like who?"

"Oh, I don't know... Your dad, maybe? Enid? Michonne? Judith? Every single goddamned one of your friends? Haven't you thought about that?"

"Haven't you thought that maybe your dad needs you around? He doesn't hate you, doesn't blame you. He doesn't want you gone."

"He doesn't care about me. Why can't you see that?"

"Because he does care! The only reason I didn't let him come to find you is because –" Carl stopped talking and shook his head. Evelyn frowned at him.

"He won't care if I'm gone. If I leave then I'm giving you lot a chance to get out of Alexandria. The League will regroup, they will go after you. They never leave survivors. I'm labelled as a traitor. They'll come after me first. If I get far enough away from you, then you will be alright. You'll be safe. All of you. For a while at least. It's the least I can do after what I did to you lot. After what happened to Rick."

"Then let me go with you."

"I've already told you, no!"

"You can't stop me."

"Don't be so goddamned childish! You're going straight back to Alexandria."

"And tell Daryl that I couldn't persuade you to go back with me? Because he'd be really happy about that."

"He can be as much of a grumpy shit as he wants, I ain't going back. But you are."

"Not without you. You want to stop me going with you, then you're either going to have to come with me back to Alexandria or kill me." Carl looked at her and she smiled.

"I love proving people wrong." And the next thing he knew, Evelyn hit him in the head with her gun and knocked him out. She hissed, feeling sorry for him. She shook her head.

"Yep, that's gonna leave a mark. And a headache. Sorry." She dropped her pack to the ground and started moving Carl to a place where he'd be safer if everything went to hell and walkers started moving through the area. She would have liked to put him in a tree, but that would've been hard enough even without her arm injured. When she was done hiding him under some branches, she sighed and walked back to pick up her bag. She looked back briefly.

"Bye Carl." She said, then started moving. She wanted to get as far as she could before it was dark.

* * *

Daryl headed inside the house and sat down at the table. Carl had been really apologetic that he hadn't managed to persuade Evelyn to return with him. Daryl thought that it should be Evelyn apologizing to Carl, considering the bump he now had on his head. But she wasn't there, so she couldn't. Daryl stood up and grabbed his chair throwing it aside in his anger. He should have gone after her himself, dragged her back to Alexandria. Why the hell did she have to be so goddamn stubborn? He looked back at the table and frowned. Anne's journal was lying on it, a book mark in it. He picked his chair up off the ground and opened the journal. Why had Evelyn left this here? Especially with a book mark in it.

 _I reached my decision last night. I have to leave. I don't want to, Evie is my daughter, but she just seems to be getting sicker and sicker. I don't want to be here when she dies. I can't face it, can't face having to shove a knife in her head. How is it possible for a mom to kill her own child? Especially when that child is all she has left in the world. Sure, I might be able to find Daryl, but there is no guarantee that he is even still alive. If he is, there is nothing saying that he'll still feel the same about me as he did nine years ago. Has it really been that long? I don't want it to have been that long, but I suppose that it has. And he still hasn't shown up. Now he'll never get to meet Evelyn, she'll never get to meet him. I know I have said many nasty things to her, but she isn't a single one of the things I called her. She was never a mistake. Now she's all I have left of Daryl and I'm going to lose her. I don't want to, but it's what is going to happen. There is no way that she can survive this. Her fever just keeps on rising, and I don't have the medicine to save her. Am I weak? To leave her when she needs me most? I just don't want to have to be the one who... I don't want to have to kill her. Selfish of me, I know, but there you are. Perhaps someday I'll be able to tell Daryl about her. That's how I can keep her alive. I don't know how he will react, wish that he had been there for her when she had been growing up, but that is one thing that really is impossible. Just like Evie surviving this is impossible. But she always did have a way of achieving the impossible. Maybe she will this time? But this is something I can't risk. I can't be here when she turns. So I will leave. No goodbye. No apologies. Nothing. I'll just pack a few things and go. Unfortunately, I'd better leave this old thing behind. I don't want any extra weight to carry around._

 _I'm sorry, Evie. If you do survive, if you ever read this, I am sorry. I hope you can forgive me._

Why had Evelyn marked this page? Daryl turned the page and found more writing, but it wasn't Anne's writing. It was messier, a lot messier. Evelyn. Daryl frowned. How exactly was he supposed to read this? Of course, he had read messier writing before, but this was the scribbles of a kid. Well, maybe neater than that, written faster and linked, so obviously she had more control over the pencil, but it wasn't the kind of writing you would expect from a fifteen year old girl.

 _You've probably walked past the book a couple of times, might not even find it, but whatever. I just wanted to explain a couple of things. I left to give you lot a chance. Take it. Go. Don't look for me. I'll be fine. You're probably wondering why I marked that page, other than it was Mom's last entry. She thought that me surviving was impossible. Obviously it wasn't, I managed it. But to her it was. So evidently I can manage 'the impossible'. Don't worry about me. I'll either be fine or I won't. Nothing you can do about it now. I won't know where you're going, where the inhabitants of Alexandria will go, and that's how I want it. I want you to go without me. Keep everyone alive. Look after yourself. Despite how much of a little shit I act, I'm glad I met you. But you're still not all Mom made you out to be._

Daryl closed the book and put it down on the table. He wasn't going to find her, not if she didn't want to be found. He got up and started shoving his stuff into a bag. She was right. She was giving them a chance, so they should take it. But he was still going to keep and eye out for her. She was his daughter. He'd find her, whether she wanted to be found or not. He just wasn't going to find her in the next while. She knew how to hide her tracks, she could look after herself. That was what mattered.

* * *

 **Author's note: Didn't actually realise we were so close to the end, and now it's finished :) Hope you enjoyed, hopefully I'll start posting the sequel soon. Still got no clue what to call it, but I'll think of something. I've also been thinking of posting a teaser for you lot, if I do it'll probably go up next week. Maybe with a name attache. Thanks for reading! :D**


	21. Lonely Dixon

**Author's note: It's not much of a teaser, but it gives you a bit of an idea of what this might be about. Once again, thanks for reading. Enjoy :)**

* * *

 _ **Start of the outbreak**_

 _Evelyn rolled over in her sleep, which ended up waking her up. She groaned in pain and opened her eyes, curling up slightly. Anne darted an apologetic look at her, then looked back at the road ahead of her. The only reason this had happened was because of her. Evie had been sticking up for her, that was all. She didn't deserve this._

 _"You alright, Evie?"_

 _"What do you think?" The child challenged. She still hadn't forgiven her mom for what had happened, believed that she shouldn't have married the guy in the first place. But no one could have known that this is what would happen._

 _"Look, baby –"_

 _"Don't call me that. I'm not a child anymore."_

 _"You're nine, honey. I'm sorry, but you're still a child. I just want to say –"_

 _"I don't care. Pay attention to the road. Wouldn't want to crash." Evelyn muttered. For a nine year old kid she could honestly seem like a spoilt teenage brat with an attitude problem. Anne hoped that if they found Daryl he'd manage to persuade her to change, to make her open up. A small smile tweaked at her lips. That would be the day. He was probably about as bad as Evie was, if not worse. Anne slammed on the brakes and Evelyn yelped in surprise and pain._

 _"Shit!" Anne hissed. Evelyn grabbed her crutches and made her way to the front of the camper van, a worried look in her eye._

 _"What's going on?" She asked. Anne shook her head._

 _"I'm not too sure. Stay here." She said, standing up and opening the door, walking out onto the now completely backed up road. Traffic jam. Of all the times..._

 _"Mom!" Evelyn called out. Anne turned around and ran back to the camper van. Evelyn had sounded scared. There was a crash and then nothing._

 _"Evie? Evie!" Anne called out. Evelyn stumbled out of the camper van, her crutches and clothes covered in blood. She looked terrified, tears streaming down her face. Possibly from pain, considering it wasn't just her leg that was broken, but one of her arms was fractured. Anne pulled the girl into a hug, looking down at her._

 _"Are you alright? What happened?" Evelyn didn't reply, just buried her face deeper into Anne's jacket, "It's OK, you're OK." Anne crooned, then pushed her away gently and headed into the camper van. There was a body on the floor, its head a messy pulp. Anne couldn't help it. She screamed._


End file.
